Girls Incorporated®
Girls Incorporated of Rapid City was founded in Rapid City in 1965 and is the cornerstone of Youth & Family Services. Today, our activities are conducted in the new facility at 120 E. Adams St. in Rapid City. The modern facility provides members with clean, spacious learning environments inlcuding a crafts room with four sinks, a larger science laboratory, a spacious computer lab, a photography dark room with safety lights, an expanded library with room for more books and three computer workstations, and an official middle-school sized gym. Each classroom is also larger, with space for 20 to 25 children.
YFS Girls Incorporated serves girls ages 6-17. We provide fun and exciting educational and recreational activities during the school year and each weekday during the summer. Through these activities, YFS Girls Incorporated® was able to serve 1,354 girls this past year.
Programming Hours
- Non-school months – Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- School months – Monday through Friday, 2:30 to 8:00 p.m.
Membership Information
Membership is for girls ages 6 to 17 and costs $20 per year. Click here to read more about becoming a member of Girls Incorporated of Rapid City.
Programs and Activities
Our programs highlight community action, sports, health, careers and life planning. These programs also celebrate our members’ culture and heritage, and encourage the girls to develop self-reliance and life skills.
YFS Girls Incorporated® center-based activities are implemented in developmental age groups with girls participating in challenging and creative events that include:
- photography
- crafts
- creative dramatics
- music lessons
- swimming
- computer programming
- homework help and tutoring
- substance abuse prevention
- pregnancy prevention
Throughout the last year, 436 members participated in activities in the computer lab, 333 participated in the music and drama program, 285 utilized homework help, 502 attended the swimming excursions and 684 participated in activities in the Teaching Kitchen.
Community service opportunities conducted throughout the year allow members to “give back” to their neighborhoods and offer girls the experience of having a positive impact within their community. For example, Girls Incorporated® members planted more than 800 donated flowers and plants at the Humane Society of the Black Hills to beautify the community in which they live. For more on this activitiy and other YFS events, click here.
Health Connections
YFS Girls Incorporated® outreach programming, Health Connections, is an innovative program for high-risk girls, ages 5-15. This program addresses physical, mental and social health needs through connecting girls with service providers in the community. More than 200 individuals/agencies collaborated with this program to provide services to 125 girls just this past year.
Operation SMART
Operation SMART ® (Science, Math and Relevant Technology) is a highly acclaimed program that encourages girls to become involved in science and math and to investigate nontraditional, technical/vocational or scientific careers. This past year, Girls Inc. encouraged more than 1,300 local girls to explore, have fun and get messy through hands-on activities, mentoring experiences and laboratory experimentation.
Girls Bill of Rights
- Girls have the right to be themselves and to resist gender stereotypes.
- Girls have the right to express themselves with originality and enthusiasm.
- Girls have the right to take risks, to strive freely and to take pride in success.
- Girls have the right to accept and appreciate their bodies.
- Girls have the right to have confidence in themselves and to be safe in the world.
- Girls have the right to prepare for interesting work and economic independence.
