Inspirational People
INNERSTARGIRL: CREATING A CULTURE OF KINDNESS By Lori Berezin A former school counselor with a Master’s in Psychology, Lisa Tiano created InnerStarGirl (innerstargirl.com) with her daughters Brynn, age 15, and Mia, age 12, to help girls deal with the myriad of emotional and social issues of adolescence. After daughter Brynn noted how intensely girls were bullying each other online and around school, Lisa and her kids created an organization to help combat the low self-esteem, poor body image, peer pressure, and academic stresses these girls face. Mia, a 7th grader in middle school, helps with all the social networking and enjoys speaking with her mom and older sister at workshops, events, and school assemblies. Their core mission is to give young girls and women the tools to make positive changes in their lives. To that end, they created a non-judgmental, environment-integrating group discussion, role-playing, art, yoga, music, and more to help foster healthy self-esteem and successful relationships. Since then, Brynn, a sophomore at Calabasas High School, organized a viewing of a documentary on bullying, Finding Kind, to a rapt audience of over 1,400 students. Girl Scout troops and national organizations have invited them to form InnerStarGirl workshops, and elementary and middle schools have asked them to do more school assemblies. Teachers are even incorporating their lessons on bullying into their curriculum. Lisa is currently working on a book of tips for girls on how to deal with negative situations that affect them in everyday life. She realizes when girls can speak up for themselves and others. It will alleviate much of the bullying done today across social media and elsewhere. She hopes it will also lead to a long overdue “culture of kindness.”
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Calabasas Style