Co-founders Shannon Keating and Christina Gutman met while facilitating a girls club together in 2022. When the club was over, they both agreed that the girls were needing more time and space to process and receive support around the critical issues our adolescent girls are now facing — things like “mean girl” and bullying situations, social media challenges, hormonal mood swings, comparison and jealousy, body image struggles, and beyond.

We wanted to be a part of the solution and created GEMS to provide a holistic program for girls to talk and open up about issues that are present in their social-emotional lives without judgement, while also moving their bodies in healthy ways and getting physical exercise in a non-competitive, fun environment.

We also believe that awareness of our mind-body connection is a valuable skill to leverage throughout our lives, and we want to help girls and young women learn about this powerful quality so that they can use it as a source of strength and healing. Our programming centers around one’s internal self-worth, compassion and service to others and our community, and respecting and celebrating our bodies. We do this through: safe-space sharing and coping tools development, different forms of exercise and games, meditation and mindfulness, and creative projects.

We’ve developed the curriculum that we wish existed when we were younger — to walk the girls compassionately through lessons such as “Positive Self Talk”, “Exploring Uncomfortable Emotions”, “Overcoming Comparison”, “Building New Friendships”, and “Focusing On Your Joy”.

GEMS is a space where girls can explore strength in vulnerability, support in community, and safety in being exactly who they are — shining bright like a diamond.