F.Y.R.E.

Empowering girls of color to drive change.

F.Y.R.E (Fierce Youth Reimagining Excellence) is an empowerment and leadership program for middle school girls of color and gender-expansive youth in the Greater Boston area. It is a weekly in-school and after-school program that uses dialogue, experiential learning, and community building to nurture positive self-identity, strengthen social emotional skills, and gain a deeper understanding of social justice and civic engagement through a lens of wellness. 

By the end of this program, participants of F.Y.R.E.  will gain the skills and knowledge to explore wellness as a personal right and a collective necessity.  They will examine how systems of power, privilege, and oppression impact their ability to experience wellness, joy, and liberation at the intersection of race and gender. Participants will reimagine their schools, relationships, and communities as spaces where their full humanity is respected and nurtured.

Through the development of their sense of self and their increased capacity for civic engagement, participants will explore community organizing principles and practices, discovering ways to use their voice, power, and creativity to address and take action against inequities that limit their access to the wellness they deserve. 

What we do during F.Y.R.E.

F.Y.R.E. consists of weekly 1-hour sessions.

Section 1: Learn

Students deepen their understanding of oppression, institutional power, and people power as they relate to their  own lived  experiences.

Section 2 - Plan

Section 2: Plan

Students utilize group decision-making and problem-solving skills to research and identify issues within their school communities.

Section 3 - Act

Section 3: Act

Students implement Community Action Projects that address the community issues they have identified during the “Learn” and “Plan” sessions.

Throughout the program students:

  • Use critical thinking to assess racial and gender inequities in the City of Boston
  • Learn about historical and current movements for racial and gender equity
  • Increase their capacity to engage in advocacy and policy change and lead others to act on issues important to them
  • Understand how identities intersect and are impacted by systems of power
  • Build problem-solving skills that help them to identify and react to community needs

What students gain

Two young girls smiling

Knowledge to assess racial and gender inequities within Boston

A woman writing on a white board

Build a sense of self and empowerment

YW Boston Annual Academy of Women Achievers Luncheon 2024

Increase their capacity for engagement in advocacy

YW Boston Gender Inclusion Statement

We are committed to providing comprehensive and inclusive programming that uplifts the experience of all girls regardless of their assigned sex at birth. F.Y.R.E. maintains gender equity by welcoming cisgender girls, transgender girls, and gender expansive individuals who experience oppression and discrimination based on their gender, gender identity, and gender expression.