About Us
Our mission is to empower children by encouraging a growth mindset to be their best selves.
We recognize the pressing need to equip our children with the tools necessary to navigate an increasingly complex world. By embracing a growth mindset, children learn to embrace challenges and view failures as opportunities for growth rather than setbacks. We work to help children gain practical, hands-on experience in dealing with real-world situations, allowing them to build a toolbox of skills they can use to overcome adversity and achieve their goals. We are aiming to create a kindness community that empowers children to embrace their true selves, forge resilient paths, and believe in their unlimited potential. The journey towards fostering confidence, resilience, self-trust, and self-regulation begins with the Empowered Kids Program. Let us inspire the next generation to unlock their inner power and discover just how wonderful it is to be fully themselves!
Our Mission
Who We Are
Hi! We are Gina Bowen and Kendyl Kenny, Founders of Empowered Kids.
Gina has a BA in Child Development, MA Education, and is a Certified Health & Life Coach, and Parent of two. Kendyl has a BA in Architecture, is a small business owner, PTA Board Member, Change maker, and Parent of two.
We are two authentic moms who are big proponents of personal growth. Our Empowered Kids Program started organically. While sitting on the sidelines of our son’s soccer field, we realized the opportunities before us. Our vision continued to take shape when we discovered our shared love for pickleball. We spent countless hours chatting before, during, and after games. What started as healthy habits and connecting, quickly turned into taking action. Empowered Kids came to life through a school project that allowed our children to practice important social and emotional skills. The program has shown enormous growth and attending and has become popular with the kids on campus. This has motivated us to keep creating and providing more opportunities for others to practice and grow.
How We Implement
We implement our program in schools and by supporting our community through accessible easy to use resources.
Our Program:
We use a curriculum that includes weekly lesson plans and a journal to track progress. Our lesson plans include a variety of ways to empower children to practice techniques that foster personal growth and emotional well-being. Lesson plan examples:
Vision boards for dreaming
Giving back to the community to show the value of belonging
Role play exercises for individual growth and team work
Art projects for unique expressions
Resilience training through STEAM projects
Journaling to track progress and summarize concepts
Empowered Kids rock garden for community building
Our Resources:
In an effort to further our mission to the greater community, we offer fun, easy to use resources for parents, educators, coaches, and beyond.
Why We Have Success
SEL contributes to healthy well-being and safe schools.
While SEL does not replace the need for mental health interventions for students who need it, SEL can cultivate important “protective factors”—caring relationships, safe and supportive environments, social and emotional skills—that buffer against mental health risks.
Participation in SEL programs is linked to decreased emotional distress, more positive attitudes about self and others, and fewer externalizing behaviors and discipline problems.
SEL enhances young people’s coping skills, resiliency, and emotion identification, which can help reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety in the short term.
Students participating in SEL report an increased sense of safety and support, better relationships with teachers, and stronger feelings of belonging and inclusiveness in schools.
SEL contributes to reductions in bullying and aggression.
Research Provided by Casel https://casel.org/fundamentals-of-sel/what-does-the-research-say/