Steve and Carl enjoy time together
Girls/Boyz First Mentoring began in 1998 as a project of Woman Centered, a small non-profit serving women and girls in Central VT. In 2000, Central Vermont New Directions Coalition, a drug abuse and alcohol prevention organization, approached Woman Centered about collaborating and a boys component was incorporated into the program. Community Connections, an enrichment program for youth, emerged the following year, and included Girls/Boyz First in their palette of youth services. Both of these organizations co-sponsored Girls/Boyz First until 2012 when federal grant funding ran out. In 2012, Girls/Boyz First became a project of Washington Central Friends of Education. Girls/Boyz First is now supported by a diverse array of community, business partners, individuals and grants/foundations.
Over the course of these years, Girls/Boyz First has provided over 160 mentors to central VT youth, ages 8-18. Our youth come from Montpelier, Middlesex, Worcester, Berlin, Calais and East Montpelier. More than 70% of GBF mentees are from families struggling with economic well-being as measured by their enrollment in school free lunch programs.
Girls/Boyz First Mentoring Advisory Board
Doug Kievit-Kylar, Mentor
East Montpelier
Steve Klein, GBF Mentor
Chief Legislative Fiscal Officer for Vermont
Montpelier
Garet Allen-Malley, GBF Mentor
Retired University of Vermont Faculty
Montpelier
Fred Skeels, GBF Mentor
City of Montpelier
Montpelier
Joyce Manchester, GBF Mentor
Senior Economist: VT Health Care Finance
Waterbury
Deborah Wolf
Non-Profit Executive Director
Middlesex
Wendy Freundlich, non-voting
Mentor Coordinator
Middlesex