Our History

Girls Inc. was founded in founded in 1864 on the East Coast of the United States as the Girls Club. It was a safe place where girls and young women who had moved to the city during the upheaval in the aftermath of the Civil War could go for social and even some educational opportunities.

The history of the Girls Club in Jefferson County began in 1972 with five outreach sites manned by volunteer staff and June Taylor, who was later hired as our first executive director. The group incorporated in 1977.

We moved to and from several locations before we bought our current building at 109 W. Third St. The purchase of this property was initiated at an auction in October 1981. The subsequent responsibility for raising funds and overseeing remodeling required much effort on the part of the board members. We moved into the building with workmen still there, but were excited to hold a dedication in April 1983.

The name of our organization changed network-wide from “Girls Clubs of America” to “Girls Incorporated” on May 22, 1991. A contest was held among the affiliates, and the new name came from a member who also coined the phrase, “Growing up is serious business.” Locally, our name changed from “Girls Club of Jefferson County” to “Girls Incorporated of Jefferson County, IN.”

Expansion came in 1999 with the addition of 660 square feet to the back of our building, and the purchase of our first van.

In 2006, we were able to acquire the Goodknight property at 113/115 W. Third St. for office and additional program space. We closed on the property in December with possession in March 2007.

In 2008 we put together a Capital Campaign Task Force, having conducted a feasibility study which recommended that we embark on a campaign to raise $1.6 million. This committee’s charge was to coordinate our Capital Campaign efforts, identify potential donors, and solicit campaign funds. The economy, both nationally and locally, took an unprecedented downturn in 2009 that affected our funding in a significant way. We continued slowly but steadily with our capital campaign, and with much work from our board, staff, and the generosity of our donors, we ended a very difficult year in the black!

With a very determined Campaign Task Force, we ended 2010 at 98.5% of our Capital Campaign goal. On March 29, 2011, we reached — and exceeded — our goal for the Campaign for Girls Inc.! We were able to raise $1,608,400 toward renovating our facility, replacing outdated equipment, and building our endowment.

Our most exciting accomplishment in 2016 was being selected as the National Affiliate of the Year (small affiliate category)! This honor is based on a number of criteria including revenue growth, an affiliate’s engagement with the Girls Inc. Network, the number of girls served as well as the increase in number of girls served, and the engagement of our Board of Directors.

Fast forward to 2020 which had all the promises of being one of our most successful years ever: our fund development campaign was off to a strong start, our center membership was growing, our outreach programs were poised to expand into three more elementary schools, and our March “She Knows Where She’s Going” Luncheon was our best to date! Unfortunately, by Friday, March 13, the COVID-19 pandemic had turned our world and our community on its ear.

All schools were closed. Per our Pandemic Strategy, we closed our center, and staff attempted to work from home and engage our girls as best they could. With COVID-19 protocols in place, we were able to re-open our center to our girls on May 18 for an 11-week summer program. We are very proud of the fact that we were one of the first affiliates to re-open safely for programming, which we continued to do through the end of the year.

By the end of 2022 we had completed our 2023-25 Strategic Plan which focused heavily on growing our outreach programming and marketing, received a three-year Lilly grant to hire a development manager, took a leap of faith to hire an outreach coordinator, recruited five new board members, and began re-building our part-time staff!

We were named 2024 Small Affiliate of the Year at the Girls Inc. ASPIRE conference in September and continue to grow our outreach and in-house programming. We now serve girls in three counties and two states. We have two vans that transport members from school to our downtown center, as well as on outings. We continue to grow with record enrollments through which it’s our pleasure to help build the new generation of strong, smart, and bold leaders!

Our Mission

Girls Inc. inspires all girls to be strong, smart, and bold.

Our Vision

Powerful girls in an equitable society.

Our Values

Respect the dignity of each human being.

Recognize and support the strength in every girl.

Appreciate, embrace, and advance diversity.

Drive for results anchored in accountability.

Operate collaboratively.

Across the decades, we adapted to meet the specific environmental challenges facing girls and young women, always working in partnership with schools and communities, and guided by our founders’ fundamental belief in the inherent potential of each girl. Woven into those early girls’ clubs are the same core values of Girls Inc. today: the importance of creating a supportive gathering place for girls to learn and to share in a sisterhood and a strong premise that each girl can develop her own capacities, self- confidence, and grow up healthy, educated, and independent.