Young women learn 'Creative Confidence' at Long Beach Island Foundation of the Arts and Sciences

The Long Beach Island Foundation of the Arts and Sciences in Loveladies is hosting a six-week Creative Confidence workshop designed to promote healthy thinking in young women through art. The programs are designed to help girls ages 10 to 15 utilize creative projects and self-expression to increase self-respect, confidence, assertiveness and self-awareness. The goal is to help them discover new friendships, explore creativity and discuss pressing teen issues in a positive environment, while creating projects such as vision boards and strength bracelets.

Photo via We Are LBI
The LBIF hosts a six-week Creative Confidence
workshop for girls ages 10 to 15.

The workshop will be led by Megan Tucker, who has worked as a youth development counselor at the Brick Township School Based Program through Preferred Children’s Services during the past seven years. Through the program, she has facilitated many adolescent psycho-educational groups, including Striving Towards Respect and Opportunities for New Growth (STRONG), an all-female empowerment group that facilitates self-respect and awareness in young girls. As a certified Green Dot trainer, she also teaches an evidence-based anti-violence program at Brick Township High School, in collaboration with Georgian Court University and the St. Francis Counseling Center in Long Beach Township. She also leads free evidence-based programs for children and teens through Barnabas Health.

“I think girls today need to know that it’s OK to be individuals; it’s OK not to be perfect,” said LBIF Public Programs Coordinator Amy Carreno, who said her daughter will be attending the workshop. “They need to learn how to build their self-confidence to move ahead in this world. That’s what Megan’s class is focused on – giving girls the empowerment and the confidence to be able to take on challenges in the world and be able to overcome stereotypes, and for teenage girls to be teenage girls. I think the workshop is) very fun, and it’s very positive,” she added.

Creative Confidence workshop classes will be held at LBIF on Saturdays, May 17 through June 21, from 10 a.m. to noon. Registration for the six-week course is $65 per person, or $55 with an LBIF membership.

A four-week Creative Confidence workshop will also be held later in the summer.

To register or for more information, call 609-494-1241 or visit lbifoundation.org.

— Kelley Anne Essinger


This article was published in The SandPaper.