Over 3,100 girls from Nassau and Suffolk Counties have participated in Girls Inc. of Long Island school-based, community and summer programming since 2005. Nearly all of these girls come from diverse communities.
KAYLIN ST. VICTOR
Brentwood High School, Class of 2021
Kaylin joined Girls Inc. of Long Island in the 9th grade and is currently a freshman at Johnson & Wales University. She has consistently demonstrated a spirit of collaboration, leadership, and role modeling for her peers. At age 14, Kaylin boldly spoke at our annual breakfast and, later, in a corporate partner spotlight video. Kaylin participated in our Bold Future Leaders Program and Advocacy, Leadership, & STEAM Summer Camps. She volunteers at elementary STEAM summer camps and was selected for the competitive Mt. Sinai summer internship in 2021. Kaylin is the face of Macy’s September national round-up campaign, which raised $1.5 million for Girls Inc. and highlighted the importance of mentoring relationships.
SARAF SALIM
Central Islip High School, Class of 2015
Saraf (BA/MPH) joined Girls Inc. of Long Island in high school. She has mentored girls at the STEM program at Brookhaven National Lab. Saraf founded the Women in STEM club at Boston University and interned for the CDC at John Hopkins University. As a researcher, she focuses on the mental health experiences of women and girls. When asking Saraf about her Girls Inc. experience, she says “I always like to say that it was my experiences with Girls Inc. of Long Island that really set off my path for the opportunities and commitments I've made in my personal and professional life, from majoring in a STEM field, to realizing the role of support for women in STEM, and being president of a science and engineering organization at Boston University. I'm so proud and grateful of the time I've spent with Girls Inc. of Long Island!”
Testimonial from STEPHEN TOTO, PRINCIPAL
“Girls Inc. provides students with a place to gather and safely exchange backgrounds, ideas, and emotions, especially in our most-diverse community of students. The sense of belonging, for many a new and soul-satisfying experience, brings a wealth of benefits that participants will be able to draw on for successful social interactions, of all stripes, throughout their lives. Girls Inc. participants learn to think of themselves in terms of success; in terms of being of value to their community; in terms of seekers of higher learning; in terms of being good, kind, sharing, and giving individuals. In the Girls Inc. program, participants are exposed to the value of overall positivity, of making healthy choices, of choosing the path to a moral and constructive lifestyle.”
- Mr. Stephen Toto, Principal, Silas Wood 6th Grade Center, South Huntington
