The public is invited to join the Rotary Club of Southborough to hear from a guest speaker next week. A representative from the Metrowest Women’s Fund will discuss findings from their study on middle school girls and how the community can help.
Last month, the CDC released a report that made national headlines when they found “U.S. Teen Girls Experiencing Increased Sadness and Violence”. The data included news they highlighted as raising an urgent need:
nearly 3 in 5 (57%) U.S. teen girls felt persistently sad or hopeless in 2021 — double that of boys, representing a nearly 60% increase and the highest level reported over the past decade.
The news touches on an area of concern that the Metrowest Women’s Fund has already been focusing on locally.
The fund’s mission states that they are “in the business of changing lives.” It follows, “We invest in women and girls through community building, education and grant making.” Their philanthropy focuses on 33 Metrowest towns including Southborough.
In 2020, The Metrowest Women’s Fund partnered with Framingham State University’s Center for Social Research to conduct a “Needs Assessment of Middle School Girls” in the Metrowest.
The report published in 2021 identified needs and highlighted critical issues that included “emotional and mental health, self-image, gender identity, social relationships, physical activity and COVID concerns”.
You can find the full report here.
Rotary’s meeting will be held at the Southborough Library on Wednesday, March 15th at 7:00 pm. The representative from MWF is Rachel Sagan.
