It's A Girl Thing

 Next weekend Oakley middle school age girls are invited to a free event that promoters hope will help answer questions and give girls skills that they don't normally learn in school and will useful for the rest of their lives. "It's A Girl Thing" is a charter program put together by both O'Hara Park Middle School and Delta Vista Middle School in conjunction with the City of Oakley.

The one-day event, which takes place Saturday, April 24, will feature a series of workshops that covers topics that are on many a young teenage girl's mind. They feature key discussions on drug awareness, self-defense, cyber smarts, self-esteem and more.

"The city was approached by O'Hara Park and Delta Vista middle schools with the idea," Lindsey Bruno, the parks and recreation supervisor for the City of Oakley, said. "This program is strictly set up for girls to help them learn skills that they generally don't learn in school."

Similar programs like "It's A Girl Thing" have been successful in other Bay Area cities and offers a way to approach hard issues that young girls may face now and in the future. The program is billed to be interesting and fun for teenagers. The organizers have found experienced individuals to come and speak to the girls during the different sessions.

Speakers will be coming from several organizations, Bruno said. For example the Discovery Counseling Center will be on hand to speak on "Self Esteem—Fact and Fiction". The Community Violence Foundation will be speaking on "Where do you draw the line? Flirting vs. Harassment". There will also be a fitness coordinator from Max Muscle who will be on hand to speak on "Nutrition for Girls", plus several other groups.

While there will be 12 different topics the girls will be able to choose from, each girl will only be able to fit three of the different sessions into one day. The organizers are asking the girls to pick out their top five sessions and building the day's schedule for each girl with three session, plus a free nutritious lunch.

They ask that an application be filled out, by today, that will allow the girls to pick their top choices, but if the girls hand in the forms next week they will still be able to attend the event. Bruno said that the girls just wouldn't be guaranteed what sessions will be available to attend. Some sessions are sure to fill up quickly, but since there are so many events available, there are likely to be enough interesting topics to go around.

As a key speaker to the event the organizers have lined up Antioch teen Sara Trail. Sara is a local success story. At an early age Sara mastered the craft of sewing and started her own business designing and selling clothing. She currently has two books published and a DVD she sells with details on how girls can sew and make their own dreams come true.

Currently she is attending Berean Christian High School in Walnut Creek. Her ambition is to be a fabric or fashion designer. According to her website she makes her own clothes as well as household decor items. She is billed as being "precocious, full of hope and ambition, entertaining and motivating". Sara has been invited to show one of her quilts at Rev. Jesse Jackson's 68th Birthday Gala in November. Her quilt is entitled "By His Blood".

"It's A Girl Thing" will take place from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at O'Hara Park Middle School. Pre-registration is required. Registration forms can be found at both middle school offices and at the City of Oakley offices. Bruno said that this event is open only for girls. The city is waiting to see if this program is popular for the girls and then decide to arrange a program for boys in the fall.