Girls Inc. was founded in 1864 to serve girls and young women who were experiencing upheaval in the aftermath of the Civil War. Across the decades, we adapted to meet the specific environmental challenges facing girls and young women, always working in partnership with schools and communities, and guided by our founders’ fundamental belief in the inherent potential of each girl. Woven into those early girls’ clubs are the same core values of Girls Inc. today: the importance of creating a safe gathering place for girls to learn and to share in a sisterhood, and a strong premise that each girl can develop her own capacities, self- confidence, and grow up healthy, educated, and independent.
GIRLS INC. OF GREATER ATLANTA HISTORY
The Beginning
It all began with a tragic incident in Cobb County, in 1974. That year, a 9 year old Cobb County girl, Debbie Randall, was abducted. She was found 2 weeks later, raped and murdered. Her misfortune stemmed from a lack of a safe, after-school environment for girls in her area. At the time, the most popular place to be during non-school hours was the local Laundromat. Having decided that this was unacceptable, Irma Glover and Joyce Dunaway Parker appealed to the Marietta City Council to provide a safe place for girls in the form of the Cobb-Marietta Girls Club. The Cobb County Commission then helped the Club acquire land in the Larry Bell Civic Center Complex, where the Cobb-Marietta Center still resides today.
The Cobb-Marietta Girls Club
The Club began as a one-room trailer, lent to the organization by the Marietta Savings and Loan. Girls Club staff, at that time, consisted of one paid staff member, a Director, and several volunteers. Programming, facilitated by volunteers, began in 1976. The same year, the Cobb-Marietta Girls Club became a United Way agency and elected its first Board of Directors. The following year, construction was completed on the new facility and the Cobb-Marietta Girls Club joined with Girls Clubs of America.
Girls Incorporated of Cobb County
Five short years later, Girls Clubs of America officially changed its name nationally to Girls Incorporated. The new name had a more business like feel, “because growing up is serious business.” Girls Clubs of Cobb County became Girls Incorporated of Cobb County.
Girls Inc. of Greater Atlanta
Girls Inc. of Greater Atlanta was organized in 1998 when two outstanding programs, Girls Incorporated of Cobb County and Girls Incorporated – Urban Girls Initiative/Atlanta, were combined.
As Girls Inc. of Greater Atlanta, the organization has turned it’s attention to the needs of girls throughout Greater Atlanta. While maintaining the original center in Marietta for after-school and summer programming, we also offer our programming throughout Metro Atlanta in various school and community settings.
