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 organizations, business partners, individuals and foundations.
Over the past 22 years, Girls/Boyz First has provided over 150 mentors to Central Vermont youth aged 8-18. Participants come from Montpelier, Middlesex, Worcester, Berlin, Calais and East Montpelier. More than 70% of our 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
Steve Klein, Mentor
Retired Chief Legislative Fiscal Officer for Vermont
Montpelier
Garet Allen-Malley, Mentor
Retired University of Vermont Faculty
Montpelier
Fred Skeels, Mentor
City of Montpelier
Montpelier
Joyce Manchester, Mentor
Senior Economist: VT Health Care Finance
Waterbury
Deborah Wolf
Washington Central Friends of Education Treasurer & Former Executive Director
Middlesex
Wendy Freundlich
Retired Girls/Boyz First Program Director
Middlesex
Kim Smith, non-voting
Program Director
Montpelier