United Way of Greater Milwaukee has awarded grants totaling $245,000 to nine multi-faceted programs designed to promote positive health behaviors in girls and young women that will endure over time. The grants, made as part of United Way's Healthy Girls Project, look to support the development of more functionally independent young women, healthy families, improved mental health and decrease of substance abuse. Grants were awarded to the following organizations:

African American Children's Theatre : Heart of a Woman - $30,000
The "Heart of a Woman" program will use a combination of theatre arts and professional women mentors to help low-income African American girls ages 12-18 express their understanding of critical teen issues including healthy relationships, sexuality, tobacco, alcohol and drug use, and self-esteem.

ARC Milwaukee: Self Advocacy Academy - $30,000
Through the Self Advocacy Academy, girls with developmental disabilities will have the opportunity to develop leadership and decision making skills in order to improve their self-esteem and ability to become active contributing members of the community.

Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee: SMART Girls - $30,000
SMART Girls, a partnership program with the YWCA of Greater Milwaukee, will provide girls with education and resistance skills to avoid the use of tobacco, alcohol and other drugs, as well as abstain from risky sexual activity, prevent date rape and domestic violence.

COA: Fit Fine & Fabulous - $10,000
Using a small group approach, the Fit Fine & Fabulous Club will promote the health and well being of at risk central city girls, ages 11-17, living in the 53212 zip code and Milwaukee's near North Side. Program components will include fitness education, aerobic workout and instruction, nutrition and cooking, and women's health and body image.

Danceworks: Girls Express - $30,000
Girls Express will target girls, ages 12-18, who have been identified as victims of violence, as well as other girls of diverse religions, economic and cultural backgrounds. The program will give girls the opportunity to dramatically portray their personal experiences through original productions with a variety of themes including friendship and dating, teen pregnancy, rape, rumors and violence.

Girl Scouts of Milwaukee Area: 2B Healthy - $30,000
2 B Healthy is a pilot program that will build a foundation of life skills focused in the areas of violence/safety, physical activity, nutrition/body image and substance abuse. The program will target primarily African American and Latina girls who reside in the most impoverished areas of Milwaukee.

Northcott Neighborhood House: Northcott Healthy Girls - $30,000
Northcott Neighborhood House will promote healthy lifestyles to girls through imaginative activities and a series of workshops that focus on nutrition, exercise, HIV/AIDS prevention, negotiating sexual issues, ATODA prevention and making healthy life decisions.

Meta House: Meta Girls - $25,000
The Meta Girls program will promote healthy behaviors to a group of high-risk daughters of women participating in the Meta House substance abuse treatment programs. Most of the girls served will have been reunited with their mothers after spending time in foster care after having experienced abuse or neglect. The program will center on the development of protective factors associated with healthy girls development and the prevention of high-risk behavior.

PEARLS for Teen Girls: PEARLS - $30,000
The PEARLS program addresses serious issues facing girls living in Milwaukee's central city including poverty, teen pregnancy, and equal opportunity. Girls are provided with emotional and intellectual support, access to information about their bodies and health, an understanding of their own personal power, in addition to contact with successful women role models. The program explores a vision of the future that highlights possibility, achievement and personal well being.