History
Girls Incorporated of Tarrant County was founded in 1976 as the Arlington Girls Club by local community leaders who saw the need for comprehensive services for girls and young women in the Arlington community. From its beginnings as the Arlington Girls Club, Girls Inc. has grown from serving eight girls in a borrowed facility to serving more than 4,000 children and youth annually.
United Way funding was first secured in 1977. A second agency site was opened in 1979. Funding was secured from the Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse (TCADA) in 1982 to fund substance abuse prevention programming. In 1982, the agency moved into the multi-purpose center on New York Avenue, a facility providing a gymnasium and space for recreational and educational activities. This enabled the agency to provide co-educational physical education services and league play for girls. Girls Inc. began providing on-site afterschool services in 1983, initially at Wood Elementary School. Agency site services also became co-educational, which prompted the name change to Arlington Youth Services.
The Teen Center on New York Avenue opened in May 1992 to provide high-risk youth with alternative activities and prevention services. The 76010 Zip Code area – the heart of East Arlington, in which the Teen Center is located – has a high concentration of at-risk, unsupervised teenage youth. The Center provided a safe and drug free environment for teens to participate in educational and recreational activities instead of engaging in at-risk behavior that can lead to substance abuse, early parenthood and juvenile delinquency.
In 2000 the agency became Girls Incorporated of Tarrant County following the lead of our national organization. The agency continues to provide co-ed afterschool programs, and delivers national Girls Inc. curriculum within the afterschool setting. Our agency’s focus on girls-specific programming and the need to increase opportunities for girls led to the transition of the Teen Center to an all-girls facility in September 2003. The center offered girls-focused programming and includes a College & Career Center with computers for girls to use and a resource library for learning about educational opportunities and college scholarships.
In 2006, Girls Inc. of Tarrant County won the Annie E. Casey Foundation Strengthening Families Award for our innovative Girls Poetry Jam, which we still do today in celebration of Women's History Month. Our Corporate Camp team also won the first of four Corporate Camp for Entrerprenuers Competition for their innovative business idea which included a trip to New York City! The agency also had winning teams in 2007, 2008, and 2011.
Girls Inc. of Tarrant County has partnerships with numerous schools, churches and community centers throughout Tarrant County including Fort Worth ISD's Young Women's Leadership Academy. We offer weekly programming to all students who attend the Academy.
Today Girls Inc. is a multi-faceted, multiple-site organization serving hundreds of children and youth daily. Our nationally-researched programs are offered at schools and community locations throughout Tarrant County. Girls Inc. of Tarrant County is dedicated to providing educational and recreational activities for area youth to help them improve their academic achievement, increase their self-confidence, self-esteem and physical fitness, and give them opportunities to explore creativity, careers and life skills.
