Middle school girls 'Wow'ed by program

Anyone who passes by Colonial Heights Middle School in the next few Friday nights might wonder about the packed parking lot, the crowd of preteen girls in matching shirts hurrying through the doors, and the echoes of claps and cheers from inside.

The reason for such a large assembly had nothing to do with sports or academics. Instead, the 300 middle school girls and their parents had traveled from all over Virginia to attend the biennial Women of Worth program. Better known as WOW, the program has been reinforcing values like self-respect, friendship, fitness and beauty to young girls since 2004. WOW Gold also instructs girls about the dangers of drug and alcohol abuse, eating disorders, Facebook safety and cyberbullying. The seven-week program kicked off Jan. 6 and runs through mid-February.

"I hope that the girls learn things that help them make good decisions now so they can avoid problems later on in life," said Lana Shelley, a chief coordinator of the WOW program. "We want them to have strong morals so that they will leave any bad situations or relationships as they grow older." Shelley says that program is a result of a lot of mothers getting together to help their daughters. They eventually formed the outreach ministry WOW, which is made possible by the donations of local businesses and the support of more than 30 churches.

Although the values and teachings at WOW are Biblically based, about half of the girls who attend have no church background. Shelley says that making unchurched girls feel comfortable is the principle reason why they hold the program at a school, and why no particular church or denomination is emphasized.

Theresa Haskins drove all the way from Newport News in 2010 to bring her daughters and their friends to WOW each Friday, Runescape Money and says that the trip is worth repeating again this year. "I found out about WOW two years ago because one of the speakers was a pretty prominent Christian girls' author, and I saw on her website that she was going to be close by," Haskins said.