Our Story

Home to prominent musical talents REM, the B52's, Widespread Panic and many others, Athens, Georgia is internationally known for its impact on the music world. Locals will brag about the city's civic spirit and community engagement. But despite the commitments of its citizens, this eclectic southern town has had a long history of struggling with poverty. In 2009, 32.5% of Athens residents lived on an income below the poverty level, and 20% of its residents were living on an income level of less than half of the poverty line. This is especially compelling when compared to those statistics for the state of Georgia at 13% and 6.1% respectively (http://www.city-data.com/city/Athens-Georgia.html).

Girls' Rock Athens aims to be a positive force in the community by staying true to our mission "to promote female youth empowerment through music education and creation and to foster a safe space for self expression". We hope to help these young ladies find and nurture the strengths within themselves, while being positive, caring female mentors to them.

We hope that by offering need-based scholarships, we can give this opportunity to girls who may not otherwise have the chance, and upon whom this experience may have an even greater impact. We feel we have a unique opportunity to involve these kids in the things that make Athens such a great city -- engaging them in the positive aspects of the community early, so that they may be less tempted by drugs, crime and other activities harmful to themselves and their neighbors.

The Impact

This July, Girls' Rock Camp Athens will be holding its third annual week-long summer day camp for girls between the ages of 9 and 15 who want to learn to rock! This year, the camp will be held at the Boys & Girls Club in Athens, GA. We believe many of the girls who regularly attend the Boys & Girls Club would attend camp if given the opportunity, but the parents and guardians of these girls may not be able to afford the $300 tuition for camp. We'd like for them to have the opportunity to attend anyway, by offering at least 7 full scholarships to camp this year. We're asking for help from the IndieGoGo community to make this happen for these girls!

What We Need & What You Get

We would like to offer at least 7 need-based scholarships to camp this year. Our cost for camp week is $300 per camper, so we're asking for $2100 to cover the cost of 7 financially challenged girls. We can only offer as many scholarships as we have funding for, but we're sure we can make it work with your help!

For your monetary donations, we'll send you stickers, CDs of the girls' original songs, t-shirts and signed posters! Check out the perks on the right for specific details!

Other Ways You Can Help

Girls' Rock Camp Athens is run entirely by volunteers and all the musical gear we use is loaned or donated. If you live in the Athens area and are interested in donating your time or lending us any musical gear, please visit our website http://girlsrockathens.org or email volunteer@girlsrockathens.org for details. We appreciate your help!