Case Study
Gyrls in the H.O.O.D. Foundation
Fundraising, Communications, and Design
Photo courtesy of Gyrls in the H.O.O.D.
How Women Unite! Got Connected
Gyrls in the H.O.O.D. Foundation (Gyrls) was selected to be a partner during WU!’s 2022–23 cohort, joining The Love Package Project and Chicago Women in Trades.
The origin of Gyrls is grounded in the needs of their target population of young Black women, providing tools and resources they need to make decisions that work for them. This vision aligns directly with WU!’s mission, and our team was excited to work alongside Gyrls to help make our world a more just, more compassionate place.
Photo courtesy of Gyrls in the H.O.O.D.
Who They Serve
The gyrls served come from all over the city—largely concentrated in Englewood, Auburn Gresham, Roseland, and Chatham—90% of gyrls served are considered low-income. Across the U.S., 1 in 4 Black girls experience period poverty—the struggle many menstruating people face while trying to afford sanitary products.
According to a report by the Black Women’s Health Imperative, titled Black Girls Matter: Pushed Out, Overpoliced and Underprotected, there is a critical need to connect Black girls with reproductive health programs. The report highlights the fact that Black girls are disproportionately impacted by issues such as unintended pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections, and sexual violence, and that these challenges can have lifelong consequences for their health and well-being. However, Black girls often face significant barriers to accessing reproductive health services, including lack of education and information, stigma, and limited access to healthcare.
Gyrls believes that teenagers are more than capable of making decisions for their bodies as it relates to reproductive/sexual health once they receive the proper education. Their work centers around the belief that education is empowering.
Photo courtesy of Gyrls in the H.O.O.D.
About Gyrls in the H.O.O.D.
Englewood native Chez Smith founded Gyrls in 2017 to provide reproductive health education and supplies to teen gyrls in Chicago's underserved neighborhoods. Chez, now 44, was raised by her grandparents. When her grandmother died while Chez was in high school, Chez recalls, “I was definitely not comfortable talking to my grandfather about periods.”
Chez has worked on numerous public health initiatives throughout her career, including as an Administrative Director of the Division of Family Planning Services. She was inspired to create H.O.O.D. House after one of her teen clients shared that she was struggling to make her appointments as she was homeless and sleeping in the park—driving home how impossible it is for a gyrl to take care of herself if she doesn’t have a home or if her home is unsafe.
Gyrls’ mission is to increase positive reproductive health outcomes amongst adolescent females residing in urban areas considered “hood.” They also aim to redefine negative stereotypes placed on gyrls based on their zip codes by pushing back on what it means to be from the hood. For Gyrls, H.O.O.D. represents their core principles Healthy, Optimistic, Outstanding, and Determined, which are integrated through programs revolving around sexual health education, community service, and excellence recognition.
Photo courtesy of Gyrls in the H.O.O.D.
The Organization’s Need
As an emerging nonprofit, Gyrls was in need of general capacity-building assistance to scale their programs and serve more gyrls on the South Side of Chicago. “I had hoped to upgrade key areas in our organization such as fundraising, website development, and tips on structuring. I’ve enjoyed having a team to bounce ideas off of, share good and bad news with. It really felt like we had a partner.” Through their partnership with WU!, Chez built the capacity needed to hire a part-time employee to assist with program management, development, and overall strategy of this incredible organization.
“Women Unite! gave us the upgrade we needed! They created a new fab website, sought after grant opportunities, and advocated on our behalf … They get me. It was a great experience! Catherine, Liz, and Cassie ROCK!”
—Chez Smith, Founder and Executive Director, Gyrls in the H.O.O.D.
Women Unite!’s Impact
Design projects such as a beautiful new website
Collaboratively built a grants program that includes:
A robust grant prospect pipeline and organizational overview template that includes information on commonly used and requested attachments
Coaching on grant tracking and management
WU! used these tools to submit over $40K in grant requests in behalf of Gyrls
Creation and strategy of sponsorship packet for Gyrls’ Holiday H.O.O.D. Angel Program. WU! hosted an in-kind drive for the Holiday H.O.O.D. kit program, collecting and assembling 40 kits. These kits included essentials and confidence-boosting items such as soap, shampoo, lotion, hair products, deodorant, pads, body spray, nail polish, and a journal.
WU! introduced Gyrls to Flowers for Dreams, who organized a verdant Valentine’s Day experience via their Bloom Room. Through the Bloom Room, Flowers for Dreams collected and donated over 500 Panty Packs, serving hundreds of gyrls. Additionally, WU! helped Gyrls receive a $12,000 grant from the Flowers for Dreams Foundation.