Girl power comes to James Farm

A new camp aimed to empower young girls and prepare them for future leadership roles is gearing up for a four-day session in Ocean View beginning Monday, July 28.

“In this day and age, confidence is everything,” said Sarah Daisey Clark of Lead Your Way Solutions, a local motivational company that is sponsoring the girls camp. “We will give the girls tools and tactics to overcome challenges and to let them think more outwardly.”

Too many times, Clark said, girls are focused on their looks and what other people think about them. Studies have shown girls' confidence peaks at age 9 and drops from there, she said.

The first session of the Lead Like a Girl camp will be held from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. each day from Monday, July 28 to Thursday, July 31, for girls in fifth to sixth grade. A second session for seventh-, eighth- and ninth-grade girls will be held the same times from Monday, Aug. 4 to Thursday, Aug. 7.

About a dozen girls will attend each session, Clark said. Scholarships are available to help offset the $245 tuition for those who need financial assistance.

Guest speakers, documentaries, videos and hands-on activities are among the ways girls will be taught to empower themselves, Clark said.

A special day of paddle-boarding at the James Farm Ecological Preserve by Ecobay Kayak Adventures will give the girls a hands-on activity to build strength and self-esteem, she said. The last day of the camp will focus on community service.

“A wealth of research has shown how valuable participating in service is for adolescents,” Clark said. “Research shows that service is especially a means of empowerment for girls as it enables them to gain a new perspective, find inner strength and become advocates for themselves.”

There are still openings for both sessions of the camp. Anyone interested in registering for the fifth- and sixth-grade session can go to www.leadyourwaysolutions.com/resources/calendar or call 302-616-1017.