Middle school. Who likes middle school? Words can be hurtful, you feel like nobody gets you and all you want to do is “fit in”. Wait. You mean there is someone other than you that feels the same way? The answer is yes. You are not alone. As a matter of fact, this is how our story starts. It’s about a young girl who at times, felt left out when she was in middle school. As middle school came and went, things started to shape up and high school was a lot easier. After talking with friends about middle school, the young girl realized that even though she felt like she was the only one- she wasn’t alone. She realized this was a problem that affected EVERY girl at some point in their middle school life, and this is how Girl Talk was born.
At 15 years old, Albany, GA native, Haley Kilpatrick wanted to make a difference. The idea was a program that would help girls get through their challenging middle school years, with the help of high school girls. She thought that she could do this cost efficiently by using space in her school before and after school, using trained school employees as her advisors (teachers and guidance counselors), and creating a leadership opportunity for high school girls by mentoring their younger peers. It is a fact that middle school girls look up to high school girls, and high school girls aren’t always the best role models.
Haley thought that she could create a student-to-student mentoring program that would inspire high school girls to become positive role models to their younger peers and this would also allow middle school girls to hear the right messages from the high school girls (in partnership with teachers, coaches, and guidance counselors) who they are so influenced by. She believed that if young girls were taken care of emotionally that they would excel academically.
After pitching her idea to her headmaster and guidance counselor at her school, Haley was set to begin the program, which she called “Girl Talk”, in the Fall of 2002. Haley would meet for one hour, once a week with interested middle school girls, and they would tackle issues and problems the girls faced on a daily basis. Haley even provided the girls with an anonymous question box where they could leave questions and concerns that they wanted to discuss in future meetings. Haley’s community witnessed the program’s and it slowly spread across Georgia and then across the Southeast. Haley invested her college savings into Girl Talk and created the “Girl Talk Handbook.” Before Girl Talk had a Web site and high school girls wanted to start a Chapter of Girl Talk, she would print and mail a copy of the Handbook to them.
It wasn’t long before she realized she was truly on to something and needed help. Haley asked Atlanta’s, Brown Bag Marketing, for help building a Web site. She envisioned a “Virtual Headquarters” and Brown Bag Marketing made this dream a reality at no cost to the organization. In 2005, she set big goals. Haley wanted to see Girl Talk in all 50 states by 2010, graduate college in 4 years, and inspire a minimum of 100 Chapters per year.
Today Girl Talk is one of the fastest growing mentoring programs in the country and is in 24 states and reaching more than 30,000 each week. Girl Talk is a 501(c)3 national nonprofit organization based in Atlanta, Georgia. As Girl Talk continues to grow, it has been featured nationally on CNN, The Today Show, NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams, TBS, Hallmark Channel, CosmoGirL! Magazine, and American Eagle Outfitters stores, just to name a few.
Haley is very proud to have such incredible success with a very limited budget. She wants to extend a thank you to Albany and Atlanta businesses and families who believed in her as a teenager and encouraged her to make her dream a reality. When asked is she proud, she replies, “Are you kidding me, we are just scratching the surface! I’m humbled that 30,000 girls are being reached each week, but there are 12.6 million girls that we want to inspire. I’ve got to get back to work.” Haley graduated college with a degree in Communication in December 2007, and works full time as Girl Talk’s Executive Director. She’s currently working hard to develop a fundraising campaign to help take Girl Talk to the next level and begin to staff this amazing organization with the right people to help her get there. If you or anyone you know, would like to make a tax-deductable gift to Girl Talk, please click “donate now” to your left.
Girl Talk and our resources are 100% free. The approved Chapter Leaders and Advisors log-in and there they are taken to their individual Chapter’s page called, “My Chapter Page.” Here they can download Leader Lessons, upload Chapter pictures, get useful tips from other leaders, apply for Girl Talk Scholarships and Awards, and so much more. We truly feel that this is only the beginning, and with support from people like you we know we will reach our goals.