In the beginning…The Cobb Marietta Girls Club

Girls Incorporated of Greater Atlanta has a long and interesting history. It all began with a tragic incident in Cobb County, in 1974. That year, a 9 year old Cobb County girl was abducted. Debbie Randall was found 2 weeks later, raped and murdered. Her misfortune stemmed from a lack of a safe, after-school environment for girls in her area. At the time, the most popular place to be during non-school hours was the local laundromat. Having decided that this was unacceptable, Lenore Dunaway and Joyce Dunaway Parker appealed to the Marietta City Council to provide a safe place for girls in the form of the Cobb-Marietta Girls Club. The Cobb County Commission then helped the Club acquire land in the Larry Bell Civic Center Complex, where the Cobb-Marietta Center still resides today.

The Club began as a one-room trailer, lent to the organization by the Marietta Savings and Loan. Girls Club staff, at that time, consisted of one paid staff member, a Director, and several volunteers. Programming, facilitated by volunteers, began in 1976. The same year, the Cobb-Marietta Girls Club became a United Way agency and elected its first Board of Directors. The following year, construction was completed on the new facility and the Cobb-Marietta Girls Club joined with Girls Clubs of America.

Since then, the organization has grown significantly. In 1985, the organization opened a second center in the Kate Westmoreland Center. Now it could provide programming and a girl friendly environment to residents of South Cobb County. The organization became known as Girls Clubs of Cobb County. Five short years later, Girls Clubs of America officially changed its name nationally to Girls Incorporated. The new name had a more business like feel, “because growing up is serious business.” Girls Clubs of Cobb County changed into Girls Incorporated of Cobb County.

In 1992, the South Cobb Center moved into space at the Rose Garden School in Smyrna. By 1995, the organization acquired permanent program space at 5171 North Avenue in Austell. The South Cobb-Austell Center was born. The new center was a huge improvement from the school building, constructed in 1928.

The Urban Girls Initiative and Girls Inc. of Greater Atlanta

Girls Incorporated of Greater Atlanta was reorganized in 1998/99 when two outstanding programs, Girls Incorporated of Cobb County and Girls Incorporated- Urban Girls Initiative/Atlanta, were combined. The Urban Girls Initiative, a national program designed by Girls Incorporated and piloted in four major national cities, was created to address the special needs of under-served girls in inner city settings. The Urban Girls Initiative was piloted in select City of Atlanta Public Schools.

As Girls Incorporated of Greater Atlanta, the organization has turned its attention to the needs of girls in the greater Atlanta area. With an aggressive goal to reach and serve girls in all 13 metro Atlanta counties over the next few years, Girls Incorporated of Greater Atlanta has positioned itself as a leading organization that addresses the needs of girls between the ages of 6 and 18, from low and moderate income families, who seek safe and creative programs to improve their life outcomes.

It is the expressed mission of Girls Incorporated of Greater Atlanta to “Inspire all girls to be strong, smart and bold.” We envision reaching this goal by becoming the premier organization that helps girls to realize their potential and exercise their rights.