By Susan Miller McGowan, PhD
It’s springtime and the flowers are blooming. I love being outdoors in the Southland. I also feel the excitement as we gear up for this year’s Rites of Passage Experience: Girls to Women. As new life is exploding around us and the cold Earth transforms, I think of the young girls I will have the pleasure to know this year at camp. I have the privilege of seeing these girls spring to life in a new way while they are at camp. Every year I watch them unfold as beautiful women with confidence and joy. This year is our third girls’ camp and we are excited to be back at Hawkwind Renewal Cooperative in Valley Head, AL. We were fortunate to be at Hawkwind in 2010 for the girls’camp and appreciated all that Charla and Lulu had to offer us. The beautiful grounds with the Medicine Wheel and Dance Circle provided the perfect setting for the work we did with the girls. The abundance of herbs and edible plants were a great school room as we learned ways to take care of ourselves. Truly a place of wisdom and healing to gather as women and girls in this important process. This year should even be better. We have a larger volunteer staff with the possibilities that each woman brings. We will have equine therapy offered this year, since we have more support. Of the women who are gathered to support this camp, each offer unique gifts of wisdom and healing. The circle is strong for the girls. Send us your young girls, ages 12-17 who have begun mature. We promise a powerful, unforgettable experience. Also remember that your financial support provides assistance to kids who would otherwise not be able to take advantage of this powerful celebration of who they are and who they are becoming.