June 26th, 2009, marked the final day of the newly reconstructed Girls in Action youth program at BNB. Fourteen girls began the  intensive 6-week, 5 days per week program, and on May 26th, all fourteen girls graduated with a ceremony attended by friends and family, complete with a potluck dinner and slideshow.

The pictures gave loved-ones a glimpse of the girls' experience during the past six weeks. Photos showed girls overhauling hubs, headsets and bottom brackets, adjusting brakes and derailleurs and oiling up chains. They chronicled bike rodeos and lengthy rides, safety lessons and the journey of the six GIA participants who braved the 15-mile ride in the Bike-A-Thon. They also captured conversations and debates about the environment and gender stereotypes, as well as weekly girls-only field trips by bike to organizations such as ReVision Urban Farm, Southern Jamaica Plain Health Center and Girls' Leap.

In the past, the Girls in Action program was only one day per week, and consisted of a group of 8-10 girls, ages 9-11. The new Girls in Action is modeled from the Earn-A-Bike Curriculum, in which participants choose a donated bike and learn the mechanics necessary to overhaul and maintain it. Along the way, they gain the environmental and health knowledge necessary to see the bike as a viable and sustainable option for transportation. In Girls in Action they take it a step further, with an additional female empowerment focus. Discussions and hands-on mechanics teach the girls that they can to anything boys can do... and maybe even do it better.

The next session of Girls in Action will take place in the fall, beginning October 26th, 2009. For more information, contact Diana Boro, the Youth Development Coordinator and Girls in Action Facilitator at diana(at)bikesnotbombs.org.