The Cookies and Milk Project

“Empowering our girls to embrace their unique strengths, make positive choices, respect themselves and go after their dreams is part of The Cookie and Milk Project core mission.

“We are delighted to be a partner in this important initiative that will help develop the confidence and leadership skills of our young people. “This is a valuable project for young girls in foster care, as well as girls in our juvenile justice system, where self-esteem and self-confidence issues can be prevalent.”

“Every time I’ve read about a woman or teen who died trying to lose five pounds on diet pills, or after botched liposuction I wished there was a way to turn back time and tell her she was worth so much more than that “Our goal is to help girls believe that they are valued for so much more than their appearance, and that they don't need to struggle to meet someone else’s idea of beauty.”

It is important to show other girls that they are beautiful just the way they are.”

“We can help young girls – and boys – think more deeply about how girls are reflected in media, and challenge the idealized or stereotypical images that have a negative effect both on girls’ self-esteem and the ability of young people to have a nuanced understanding of gender.”

We are committed to challenging dangerous and sexualized images of girls in the media and we are so happy to see celebrate girls' strength, creativity, intellect, compassion, courage and humor – along with all the diverse ways they are beautiful just the way they are.

“You don’t have to be a young girl in today’s society to be aware of the myriad pressures girls face, from their peers, family, culture and media

Even as women have made enormous strides in education, politics and the workplace, young girls report struggling with body image and self-esteem at younger and younger ages and stories abound about bullying around appearance and sexual behavior.

Girls’ dissatisfaction manifests around body image, particularly weight, at an alarmingly young age: More than 80 percent of 10 year old girls are afraid of being fat and, by middle school, 40-70 percent of girls are dissatisfied with two or more parts of their body, and body satisfaction hits rock bottom between the ages of 12 to 15 years old.

The Cookies and Milk initiative, aims to tackle the issue of girls’ self-esteem and body image by helping girls believe their value comes from their character, skills and attributes – while challenging an unhealthy idea of beauty.

“Our Girls”

We create lasting memories. Young ladies should understand their worth and carry themselves as such so that others will step up and do the same and regard them in an age appropriate manner.

We endeavor to have young ladies between the ages of 10-18 understand that they are truly beautiful on the inside and that on the outside, they were born with real beauty and that beauty should only be enhanced, not over processed.

Our Girls, Debra Lynn Holt 2020