Behind the Scenes
The Women of the Lower Eastside Girls ClubMARY ADAMS, EDUCATOR
What brought you to LESGC?
I used to have my own store in the Lower East Side in the Eighties, The Dress, on Ludlow Street. I designed and made one-of-a-kind party dresses for special occasions and wedding dresses for the "alternative bride," along with a small accessory line of makeup and travel cases for Henri Bendel and Barneys New York. The shop was close to where the Girls Club was located then.
I learned about the LESGC through Lou Dembrow, who was a photography teacher there, while she was shopping at my store. We both agreed that starting some sewing workshops for the girls would be a good fit, so I started volunteering. When the new building was done, I was asked by then-Executive Director Lyn Penticost to become a part-time member of the staff. Today, Lou's daughter Jenny is Co-Executive Director of the LESGC!
Hard at work on the pillow-portrait project
“The best part about working with the girls is not only seeing their creativity but seeing them grow into confident young women.”
We do some amazing themed-based summer workshops—Zero Waste, Save the Bees, Endangered Birds—and collaborate with wonderful artists and brands.
Through art-based projects, the girls learn about issues concerning women and girls, the environment, immigration, and learning about their rights. We also teach the girls that it's important to give back to society—every year, we make blankets and toys for the Animal Care Centers of NYC-Manhattan.
During the year, they learn basic sewing techniques and how to use a sewing machine while making purses, backpacks, bows, pillows, dolls, bears, skirts, aprons, potholders, and dresses—all from scraps. We do a lot of creative thinking and choosing colors, which I kind of leave up to them. They get to be very creative during the whole process. I'm always amazed at the things they come up with and how proud they are at finishing a project they can take home.
The fashion shows in the summer are really fun. The girls get really excited. Their hair and makeup gets done, the sound studio does the music, we have someone come in and teach them how to walk the runway… and all the parents come. It’s so exciting to see everyone flourish in this way.
It started out as a bakery in the old building. When I took it over, I started making products, like potholders. It’s since evolved into teaching the girls entrepreneurial skills, too, to take them from idea to selling their stuff at market.
Just seeing the girls. It's fun to be around them. Getting to know young people and what they like to do, inspiring them to do things and getting them excited about learning is always really fun.
Also, watching them grow up. The best part about working with the girls is not only seeing their creativity but seeing them grow into confident young women. I'm planning to start at alumni class soon, so keeping in touch with the girls and giving them something to do, especially now, has been inspiring.
KAYANN PHIPPS, ALUM
What brought you to LESGC?
I attended the Lower Eastside Girls Club when I was in elementary. It was a place for me to go do extracurricular activities, like baking and photography. Their programs kept me busy and learning new skills.
What do you love about the organization?
The exposure they provide for young girls who come from low socioeconomic backgrounds, whose parents could not otherwise afford to pay for extracurricular activities for their children. I’m grateful for the resources they provided because I came from a single family home with a parent who was unable afford after-school programs.
Kayann Phipps and Rosario Dawson, our #VBGIVESBACK woman of the quarter with LESGC
“Lower Eastside Girls Club has impacted my life tremendously. They taught me a lot about politics and fighting for your rights and the rights of others.”
Lower Eastside Girls Club has impacted my life tremendously. They taught me a lot about politics and fighting for your rights and the rights of others. When it was time for me to go to college, they helped me with my college application. They even provided me with my first job out of college. The tools and the relationships they provided allowed me to branch off and work for other organizations. They taught me a lot about grassroots; now I work in child protection making sure children are not getting abused or neglected. I am also a board member of a nonprofit called Point of Love Foundation based in Los Angeles, which provides services and resources to families in poverty and the homeless.
Jenny Dembrow has been a huge impact on my life. She has always been a listening ear when I needed her. She has always made sure that I had the tools I needed to succeed in school. She would find me tutors to make sure I passed my classes. She would even come to my birthday parties as a child. She was there to make sure I had whatever I needed to be okay or just to make sure I had a smile on my face. I truly appreciated her attentiveness towards me; I never felt isolated or uncomfortable. She and her mother, Lou Dembrow, took the time to really get to know my family and how they could better service me.
Learning photography with Lou Dembrow. Going into the dark room, learning how to develop the photos, brought me a lot of excitement. Lou embraced my passion for photography as a child and she would let me borrow the Canon camera and take pictures outside of the Girls Club. She always trusted that I would return the camera, which I did.
JAYRON LARIJANI, VOLUNTEER
What brought you to LESGC?
I think it was an article about the LESGC in a local New York paper, sometime in 2008. Their work really resonated with me so I asked about volunteer opportunities. Being a technology professional, I thought I could have something to offer. What I have ended up doing with them has been far more rewarding than computer help! During the volunteer interview, I spoke of my love of art and museums and it just so happened that they had a program called Museum Club. I was in!
What do you love about the organization?
I love that the LESGC is a joyful and positive community. The minute you step into any LESGC activity, you feel a whoosh of energy and a spark of hope. It never fails! The programming is creative and interesting, the staff is superb and forward-thinking and the girls—oh, the girls—they are energetic and always busy. It’s all about action and connection. To me, this is hope. In this environment, everyone grows.
Jayron Larijani and LESGC member, Fanta, at Fotografiska New York
“I love that the LESGC is a joyful and positive community. The minute you step into any LESGC activity, you feel a whoosh of energy and a spark of hope. It never fails!”
I kind of do all the things! My favorite has been as working as a Museum Club mentor for 11 years. I hope in our current climate this type of art exploration can come back in some form. It was an exceptional experience.
I’ve done some fundraising and also participate in the Annual Gala and other festivities. A good portion of my annual holiday gifts has come from the La Tiendita boutique and the “sister” club craft sales.
The annual walk-a-thon has also been a regular event. It’s a chance for LESGC to walk with pride through the community they call home. It’s good, clean fun—and who doesn’t like walking behind a marching band and dancing (or trying to dance) with the step teams? I walked with my mom one year and, upon our return, my step-dad said, “Whatever you did today, you should do more often.” The energy just lifted us so high!
Since the start of the pandemic and the shift to digital programming, I’ve switched out museums for the LESGC kitchen. I’ve been helping out whenever they need an extra hand in preparing meals for the girls and their families. I can’t cook, but I can count, label and wrap!
Once a month, the Museum Club traveled as a group to a pre-arranged museum, gallery or art space. LESGC arranged everything! Each mentor-mentee pair started the afternoon with a one-on-one lunch. Most of the girls come from “complicated” families—complicated can mean so many things—but one thing they all crave is the undivided attention of an adult. Lunch was a time to shine their own light and talk about themselves and their world. Consistent one-on-one interactions created a safe space for them, where, eventually, they could let out all the joys, successes, sorrows, dilemmas and dreams. In this, their young life is distinguished from their families, school-mates and community. They sit there as individuals and are validated. Talking over a meal is also so relaxed; it can ease a young lady into table manners, polite communication, food exploration and even a little bit of indulgence and fun!
Once at the museum, we’d go around as a pair. I’ve never been an easy mentor (eye-roll here) and like to engage my mentee in what we are seeing. I’d often do a little research so I could ask questions to make them think a little differently—a little beyond what was right in front of us. The conversation that flowed during this time was priceless! In a safe space, the girls come alive and comfortably go from deep insights about protest photography to complete melt-down over marble nudes to cold fear of mummies. Every single outing has become a cherished memory for me.
When I was in high school, a teacher showed us a Fellini movie—La Strada. I had no idea what I had just seen or why. Everything about it was so far outside my reality. At home with my “complicated” family and the myriad issues of teen life, this movie didn’t fit. But there it was, my weird experience, my puzzle, my memory. Over the years, the film has popped into my head at the oddest times, like a sign flashing, "Different things: don’t forget." The simple experience of seeing it (I still don’t know what it’s about) has pulled me out of slumps, pushed me to try new things, and prompted me to break cycles that seemed impossible.
I love that the LESGC, through its programming, opens up so much possibility for the girls in the community. Art, film, science, cooking, sewing, etc.—there is so much to supplement the day-to-day familiar. All kinds of reminders that they are NOT stuck. They are NOT inconsequential. That just by knowing there is something different, they can get to it. Just like my Fellini movie.
Naming one is impossible! A few stand out. The first is from a trip to MOMA years ago when my first mentee, Kimberly, realized the mirror she was looking into was the actual mirror her favorite artist, Frida Kahlo, used to paint her self-portraits. I witnessed a world opening for her. Another is having been honored, along with my mentee, Aicha, at the LESGC Annual Gala. We were so well matched from the start and to be associated with this fantastic young woman for six years, I felt proud, humbled and just so incredibly good! LESGC made me feel valid, valued and, above all, a part of this incredible community.
By the way, seeing both of these fabulous young ladies enrolled in excellent universities and still being in touch with them is buttercream icing on this cake!
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