Girl-Wise Conference focuses on 'self-care'

The 13th Annual Girl-Wise Conference and Resource Fair was held Saturday, April 16, at the College of Lake County, Grayslake Campus.

The conference targets middle school- through high school-age girls and is dedicated to educating, supporting, and promoting them to develop into healthy, resilient and productive women.

A total of 148 girls and 30 parents attended this all-day event, which was the biggest turnout yet. Additionally, 41 volunteers helped coordinate and assisted on the day of the conference. Volunteers included Girl-Wise committee members from Juvenile Probation/Detention Services, the Lake County State's Attorney's Office, the Unites States Navy, College of Lake County, Girls on the Run, OMNI Youth Services, and UP2US.

The theme of this year's conference was "self-care." The all-day event kicked off with breakfast donated by Nicasa, a resource fair, Jr's Challenge programming and a clothing drive. Opening remarks were given by the supervising judge of Juvenile Court Judge Valerie Boettle-Ceckowski; Lake County State's Attorney Mike Nerheim; Illinois State Congressman Bob Dold; Regional Superintendent of Schools Roycealee Wood; and Juvenile Court Judge Sarah Lessman.

The Navy Color Guard held a ceremony presenting the colors of the American flag.

The keynote speakers this year were Dean Kharasch and Carol Gudbrandsen from the Lake County State's Attorney's Office, Cyber Crimes Division. Their presentation included Internet safety and social media.

Lunch was donated by the Regional Office of Education, followed by a presentation on the resiliency theory by Charla Waxman from Vista Health Systems. The remaining portion of the day included a breakout workshop on self-care for the girls presented by OMNI Youth Services and UP2US, as well as yoga for the parents/role models.

The day ended with drawings for donated raffle prizes and giveaways for all attendees.