SIS Circles impact on International Day of the Girl

October 11 marks the International Day of the Girl, which aims to highlight and address the needs and challenges girls face while promoting their empowerment and the fulfillment of their rights. It’s a day to recognize the importance of investing in girls’ education, health, and well-being. 
The incredible work of SIS Circles, a nonprofit organization based in Atlanta, Georgia, has established its footprint by creating space to learn and discuss these focus areas. SIS Circles, which stands for Sisters Inspiring Sisters, is dedicated to empowering and supporting black and brown girls between the ages of 12 and 19 in middle schools and high schools within the Atlanta and Fulton County Public School Systems.
Sharon Green, the executive director and co-founder of SIS Circles, shared the organization’s mission and impact, highlighting the importance of creating safe and brave spaces. 
“We wanted to work with girls within our pillars, which is resiliency, health, conscious thinking, career readiness, and academic achievement,” Green explained. “The basis is creating safe and brave spaces for girls to be able to express themselves and they are learning that all emotions are natural, available for them to have, but not for them to be stuck in it.”
The organization’s efforts have proven to be vital, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. 
Green noted, “Post-COVID, we’re looking at these girls who did not have spaces to learn how to navigate within school systems and socialize, on top of having deficits in their academic achievements. They were also not really prepared emotionally to be back in the classroom settings or even in school settings.”
SIS Circles employs an intergenerational approach to mentorship and sponsorship by involving interns from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and other institutions in the Atlanta area to serve as teachers for the high school and middle school girls. This approach not only provides guidance and support but also serves as a model of emotional healthy behavior and making healthy choices.
“SIS Circles is an organization we are proud to acknowledge in parallel with the NBA Foundation,” David Lee, Executive Director of the Atlanta Hawks Foundation said. “We see and hear about the incredible work they are doing and are jubilant to have organizations like SIS Circles in Atlanta. We look forward to working alongside with them in the future, as we collectively work to equip young Black and Brown girls throughout Atlanta with essential life skills for success. Through their educational initiatives, mentorship, leadership development, and career training, they are empowering the next generation of confident, dynamic leaders within our communities and beyond.”
The organization’s transparency and care for the girls they serve are evident in their approach. 

“We are fully transparent about who we are and how we are from the first meeting,” Green shared. “So we might come in prepared to do a curriculum, a series of activities and things of that nature. But if we notice that the girls are just not in that space because there are a lot of dynamics happening, we’ll stop our programming for the day and we’ll say, ‘OK, let’s facilitate a conversation to support them.’”
What makes SIS Circles unique is that they are present within the girls’ schools and serving anywhere from 40 to almost 150 girls a week. The organization targets Title I schools with a high percentage of students receiving free and reduced lunch, ensuring that they reach communities that are underserved.
As part of their efforts to celebrate the International Day of the Girl, SIS Circles is partnering with Microsoft to host a virtual conference featuring women from various parts of the world who now live and work in Atlanta. This event aims to inspire and empower the girls by showcasing diverse paths to success and highlighting local and international role models.
“When we create these safe and brave spaces, we are finding that 75% or more girls that have gone through our program feel more comfortable articulating their needs in a respectful manner,” Green shared. “We also are seeing that they’re taking more leadership roles in their classes, in their schools, and in their communities as they are now finding their voice and learning about new opportunities that they can participate in.”
To learn more about SIS Circles and be a part of the change, visit www.siscircles.org.