To create a safe space for girls to share their struggles and help one another, co-leaders Addison Burch and Jamisyn Leinen introduced the Hope Club to the high school this year.
According to Burch, the Hope Club provides the opportunity for female students to “make partners, make friendships, and then work on other struggles they could be facing.”
Burch hopes to give members a chance to find peers and friends that they are comfortable with opening up to and leaning on one another for support.
“We wanted to help to get rid of the gap between underclassmen and upperclassmen,” Burch said. “Hopefully an upperclassman can give them some advice, or maybe they can find some peers and friends within that close group of girls and we can give them support as well.”
For advisor Jennifer Micciche, she loves the club’s central focus of positivity and female empowerment.
“We really liked the message about females supporting other females and making that connection,” Micciche said. “It is a tough transition to come into a big building, [into] high school and navigating relationships.”
According to Leinen, the Hope Club originated in the middle school years prior to its upbringing at Souderton.
“My mom and my sister created this program for middle school because my sister had a hard time in middle school. She wanted to help other people,” Leinen said.
Leinen mentors a small group of middle school students and teaches them what to look for in friendships, “whether they’re healthy or unhealthy.”
“Middle school is so hard for girls,” Leinen said. “We’re trying to show them right from wrong and show that there’s other people that they can go to and lean into so they aren’t alone.”
Burch describes the club as “something run by teenagers,” to help middle schoolers find their way through “struggles” in school.
For Burch, she wishes the Hope Club creates the opportunity for girls to feel safe and come to whenever they need someone to talk to.
“I want to be able to talk about topics that most people would be scared to talk about,” Burch said. “Be[ing] comfortable with being uncomfortable. Hopefully, they learn a lot from meeting different people and talking about different struggles.”
For Burch, she hopes to give members a chance to say, “I’m going through some stuff. Can I talk to you?” She also wants to encourage women to reach out and form connections.
According to Micciche, she hopes to build a safe space for members and to form a support system.