Teen girls experience record high levels of violence, sadness and suicide risk amid “significant” and “heartbreaking” declines in youth health and well-being overall, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Most teen girls (57%) felt persistently sad or hopeless in 2021, double the rate for teen boys (29%). Nearly 1 in 3 teen girls seriously considered attempting suicide.

The data shared is distressing and was a focus of our Girl-Power Giving participants for the past two years. Girls are struggling and their mental health is deteriorating. Studies, surveys, and their peers all see it.

The Women’s Fund is focusing our next community education opportunity, Connection Matters, to help address the growing need and breakdown the stigma of mental health services for girls and young women, on World Mental Health Day, Tuesday, October 10, 2023, at Catalpa Health in Appleton.

The focus of this session will be on the mental health of girls and young women, featuring a panel of providers in our community who hear what young women face every day and how we can best support them.

Featured panelists are experienced professionals who deal first-hand with girls and young women’s mental health. We’re excited to welcome counselors and therapists from the Boys & Girls Club of the Fox Valley, Us 2 Behavioral Health Care, Fox Valley Technical College Counseling and Advising Services and Catalpa Health.

Join us on Tuesday, October 10 at Catalpa Health, 4635 W. College Ave., Appleton. Registration begins at 8:30 am with the panel starting at 9 am. Seating is limited for this event, so save your spot today! October’s program is sponsored by Barb Merry, who we thank for continuing to support women and girls in our area.

Register here.

Our team at the annual Women’s Fund Luncheon: Stacie Hazlett-Rothe, Communication and Outreach Specialist; Julie Keller, Executive Director; and Terri St. Lawrence, Development Manager

After a successful 2023 Women’s Fund Luncheon, we’re excited to continue to advocate for women and girls through Connection Matters. (Thank you to all who attended, donated, volunteered or shared the event. View photos of videos of the Luncheon here.)

The Women’s Fund for the Fox Valley Region is a supporting organization of the Community Foundation and a separate 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization. The Women’s Fund invests in the needs of women and girls through grants, advocacy and education. Since 1994, the Women’s Fund has awarded more than $1.8 million in grants to innovative programs that improve women’s and girls’ physical and mental health, ensure their economic security, promote their safety and enhance their lives.  

What does a Community Foundation do? Glad you asked! Learn more here.