If you have never heard of Glow Up Girl, you are in the company of almost every other resident in Wayne County.
Girls Leading Our Way through Unlimited Potential (Glow Up Girl) is a startup organization devoted to, you guessed it, girls! Imagine if you can, a place where girls can go to feel safe! A place where it doesn’t matter if you are Goth, Country, Hip-Hop, or Rock, a place where the color of your skin will never matter, rich or poor, black or white, you will matter. Imagine a place where bullying does not exist and everyone is welcome all of the time, without exception. There will be no whispers and no one is left out, ever. Gay, straight, bi……it doesn’t matter. Everyone is treated fairly and with respect; all of the time. This is exactly the kind of space that Glow Up Girl will provide. A beautiful, elegant space perfectly perfected for all of our perfect girls!
JoAnn Salerno and Mary Jones, of Clyde, came up with this unique program idea one cold November afternoon in the parking lot of the Clyde Public Library. The two ladies had been working to help a local family when a happenstance conversation revealed they shared a similar desire to work with the youth. They began talking about their aspirations and experiences and it seemed no coincidence that these ladies ended up working to solve the problems of a stranger.
Mary and JoAnn learned that they both had a deep-seated passion to help others. This passion, in large part, seemed to stem from the trauma and experiences each woman had endured.
JoAnn grew up in extreme trauma and poverty. Having lived with physical, emotional and mental abuse most of her life, JoAnn always knew she wanted to save others from her fate. Early in life, JoAnn became known as a trouble-maker. Frequently suspended, and once expelled from school, it was no surprise that JoAnn ultimately ended up in prison in 1993.
What is surprising is her path since that time. JoAnn went on to earn her Master of Science degree, from Nazareth College of Rochester, where she would ultimately return for some adjunct work. She has done adjunct work at Hobart and William Smith Colleges. She also worked for a local agency for 15 years, where she developed a program for Deaf and Hard of Hearing children before leaving to become an independent service provider. Presently, JoAnn, a licensed and certified speech language pathologist, provides speech and language services to qualifying children ages birth - five in Eastern Wayne County. JoAnn also works as a lecturer/motivational speaker providing professional development (primarily in school districts).
JoAnn works to educate people on the permanent implications that trauma and poverty have on children’s physical, emotional, mental and cognitive development and to provide strategies for changing the outcomes for children living in trauma and poverty.
Mary has a story of her own. Mary’s mother died when Mary was just six years old. She and her siblings were separated and placed with different family members. Mary moved from the Tallahassee area to Fort Lauderdale into a nice home and had a good life, until her aunt decided to leave. They came to New York and moved from one migrant camp to another until finally settling in Savannah, NY. Mary, who had always lived in predominantly black neighborhoods, was now living in a predominantly white area. It was culture shock. Her entire life uprooted, and everything about it changing again and again.
From an early age, Mary’s life was plagued with the loss of family members. Among the most difficult loss was the premature and violent death of her grandson in 2017. Mary has experienced many lonely and fearful times of dealing with poverty, family issues of alcoholism, substance abuse, and incarceration of loved ones throughout the years. She has spent the last 40 years working with youth and youth groups. She is a member of many committees and works tirelessly for the betterment of her community. Mary serves on the youth advocacy board of Wayne County Department of Aging and Youth, and as Trustee Board Chairlady at, Redeem Bethel COGIC Community Fellowship Center in Williamson, N.Y. Maryalso helped to develop The Seedtime and Harvest Outreach Program, an outreach program for youth.
As the two ladies talked about shared experiences, the idea for what would come next was developed. Mary had been renting a space in Lyons for The Seedtime and Harvest Outreach Program (The SHOP), but was at a turning point where she had to make a decision as to whether she was going to hold the space or let it go. The SHOP had not been functioning since 2019. After a few meetings and many conversations the ladies decided to keep the space and turn their efforts into something they both knew very well, girls and girl problems. Glow Up Girl was born.
Glow Up Girl has a three element model. The first part involves a relationship between the Glow Up Girl organization and local school districts. In this phase of the program, Glow Up Girl Co-Founders, JoAnn Salerno and Mary Jones, of Clyde, will go into Wayne County Schools and work with girls in groups according to age.
These groups will be a time for girls to get together and work through team building exercises, creating friendships and connections. These exercises have the objective of reducing the things that separate the girls, while shining a light on the things that will help them to identify their similarities. The girls will get to know each other, over time recognizing the strengths and weaknesses of themselves and each other.. Each session will also have a “Glow Circle”. The Glow Circle will provide an opportunity for child led discussion about topics of their choosing.
Adult mentors will guide the conversations, making sure that the rules of the circle are followed, but the girls will dictate what is discussed. It will be a time for healing, developing compassion, empathy and understanding.
The gap between wealth and poverty is ever growing. Electronics have put a strain on natural and “normal” development of social skills and the opioid epidemic has made death by overdose a casual conversation, except these issues are anything but normal. This element of the program (the Glow Circle) will allow open candid conversations about how addiction, bullying, food insecurity, body-image, unhealthy relationships and a host of other modern issues are affecting the girls. The Glow Circle and bonding exercises will be critical in helping to set aside stereotypes and preconceived notions and develop bonds that may not develop in other settings.
The second element of the program is the physical space. Glow Up Girl will offer a physical space for the girls to come after school to relax, do homework, meet up with friends, receive life-coaching and mentoring (peer and adult) in a judgment-free zone.
The space is Adorned in bright pinks, black and white with a coffee bar, cafe seating area and cozy seating area every girl will want to occupy this space. Th idea is to make the space an extension of the girls. For Glow Up Girl to be 100% effective there must attract a nice mix of girls from a variety of socio economic, race, ethnic, academic, athletic backgrounds.
The third and final element of Glow Up Girl is the evening meetings. Once a month, Glow Up Girls from all towns will come together to participate in a planned event, to network, develop relationships across town lines, to explore their passions, learn new skills, and hear from successful local women who will share their inspiring stories with Glow Up Girls.
Glow Up Girls is a much needed service. Since the pandemic suicide in Wayne County has gone up 200% and death by overdose has gone up 500%. The best way to save a life, is to create a connection.
The goal is to provide girls with the skills to be strong, confident leaders in their communities. By working with, and on, the whole girl (physical, emotional and mental health). Glow Up Girls with the tools to build self-esteem and confidence to meet the challenges of daily living. Topics such as improving grades, overcoming bullying, preparing for college, planning for the future, healthy relationships, self-care, compassion, empathy, mental, physical and emotional health will be covered. They will work to create a network of relationships that girls can trust and rely on for the rest of their lives.
