A Lofty Goal: Happy, Healthy Moms and Daughters

Fifth grade. Those two words can bring back uncomfortable memories for many. Crushes. Pimples. Temptations. Moodiness. In a word: Drama.
“I remember 5th grade as a year where I started feeling torn between loyalty to my mom and to my peer group. Having a setting where I could learn with my friends and our moms would have been perfect for this time,” says Carly (Stein) Hoffman, one of the leaders of a Twin Cities group for moms and their 5th-grade daughters.
Most 5th-grade girls would rather talk about Justin Bieber than healthy relationships or self-esteem. And we’ve all heard the troubling statistics about teen sex, drug use and depression.
That’s where Empowering Our Daughters comes in. The Twin Cities-wide program for 5th-grade girls and their moms helps create an open dialogue, helping to prepare future Jewish leaders and healthy young women. The interactive group gives moms and daughters time together and separately to have fun and discuss topics like body image, friendship, Jewish values, growing up and positive choices.
Healthy Youth-Healthy Communities Specialist Carly (Stein) Hoffman and Barbara Rudnick, who is Program Manager of Family Life Education at Jewish Family and Children’s Service of Minneapolis (JFCS), will lead the group, which is presented by JFCS.
Empowering Our Daughters meets from 3-4:30 p.m. at Temple Israel (2324 Emerson Ave. S., Minneapolis 55405) on Sundays November 14, December 5, January 9, February 13, March 13 and April 10. The group’s location for its meeting on Sunday, May 8, is to be determined. There is a $75 fee. No one will be turned away for inability to pay; for a fee adjustment, contact the group’s leaders.
“The beauty of this program is that moms and their daughters come together and both benefit from this group,”  Rudnick says. “We open the door for conversations that can be difficult to broach. This is an ideal age to discuss relevant topics together and set a healthy foundation for the future.”
The consistency and fun of Empowering Our Daughters helps build relationships and community. “Through action, crafting, and discussions we are enabling mothers to help prepare their daughters for leadership in the Jewish community while promoting confidence and friendship,” Hoffman says.
If interested in attending, please register by Monday, November 1, by contacting Hoffman at 952-542-4835 or [email protected], or Rudnick at 952-542-4825 or [email protected].
Healthy Youth-Healthy Communities (HY-HC) is a program of Jewish Family and Children’s Service of Minneapolis, and Jewish Family Service of St. Paul. Go to www.jfcsmpls.org or call 952-546-0616 for more information about JFCS and HY-HC.