Program areas at SUWN
Teen programs: Step Up supports high school girls and those who identify with girlhood ages 14-18 through an evidenced based nine-week afterschool program. The program offers specialized career exploration programming and leverages a social emotional learning lens to help girls explore career interests, gain exposure to various industries and begin to build a career path. During the summer, Step Up also offers three weeks of powerful career prep in conjunction with Step Up corporate partners who host career connected and experential learning opportunities. As a result of their particpation in Step Up, 83% reported increased career-readiness, 81% reported increased connectedness, and 78% of young adults reported increased confidence.
Young adult programs: Step Up supports young women and those who identfy with womanhood ages 18-29 as they transition from high school and navigate their post secondary pursuits. We focus on helping them to further hone the skills they will need to be successful in the classroom, in the workforce, and in their communities. The mentoring model pairs young women with professional mentors for structured individualized career coaching, offers career focused flash mentoring, and places them in short term microinternships. As a result of their particpation in Step Up, 100% reported increased career-readiness, 97% of young adults reported increased confidence, and 86% reported increased connectedness.
Member programs: Step Up is able to deliver a high level of social-emotional support, career preparation, and mentorship through its Network of highly engaged mentors. Step Up member programs help the organization recruit new community members who leverage their resources on behalf of Step Up girls. Fueled with this additional people power, Step Up ensures all girls are on the pathway to achieve high school and post-secondary success and have the access to information, opportunities, and resources that will help them pursue and achieve their unique dreams of success. In 2022, more than 600 Step Up mentors representing a variety of industries and backgrounds brought a depth and diversity of experience and expertise to Step Up girls across the country.
Community engagement: Step Up's community engagement program develops and fosters sustained strategic collaborations that are both local and national in reach. They ensure successful engagement of external partners such as schools, community based organizations, and community leaders. In the coming years, Step Up's community engagement program will seek to engage more stakeholders and constituents across the country while deepening our impact in local communities where we live and serve. During the 21-22 school year, Step Up expanded its reach to 2 new communities, 21 new schools partners, leveraging 22 trained professionals to deliver our afterschool curriculum.