Program description:

In an effort to prepare young female athletes for the future ahead, Shooting Touch Boston (STB) provides all high school girls with paid work experience in the form of experiential learning opportunities. These opportunities include a peer-to-peer mentorship program (asSISt), a creative youth activism project using photography (PhotoVoice for Change), and a “basketball-for-good” event planning committee (Summer Clinic Committee). High school-aged AAU The Right Way athletes partake in one course per year with the hopes of cultivating new skills, gaining work experience in an area of interest, and benefiting financially. 

Program goals:

• Increased proficiency in employment/educational areas of interest for girls of color

• Increase steps taken towards achieving upward mobility for girls of color

• Increased sense of understanding regarding personal and societal well-being

Program Outcomes:

Provided 8 weeks of experiential learning opportunities to 2 AAU The Right Way teams

•  83% of high school girls are happy with their life trajectory  

• "I loved the mentor program. That was the first time Shooting Touch highlighted the older girls like that. That was important, something I wanted to do. I never had a role model to teach me about the path or way of life. I want to inspire younger girls. This world is crazy, and they are bright young girls at Shooting Touch, but maybe some of the things I said can help them succeed in life."

• "I want to work with kids and coach later on in life and I realized after camp, after I took time to reflect. Shooting Touch is giving me a window to confirm that I actually want to do this. I know that now....I’m an athlete, I’m a coach, and I left this clinic as a role model and a mentor. Now I can continue to do this and be that role model outside of STB. I want to work with inner city kids who need help. I want to coach basketball, the game I love, while helping kids to grow, kids that really need it. Like how I needed it when I was younger. ”

• “Change starts with the younger generation. We are going to deal with the consequences of our actions today. People think because we are young, we don’t have a voice or know what we want. We know the change we want, we know our problems.”

• “This [photovoice] project definitely made me want to make more of an impact on my community.”

• “This [photovoice] project gave me a chance to tell people how I feel. This gave me an outlet.”