GirlUp GVL and SkillSet
During fall 2022, SkillSet instructors discovered the powerful and interesting work being done at GirlUp GVL, and we reached out to ask “how can we help?” This awesome organization strives for similar goals of providing experience and empowerment opportunities to young people, and we wanted to chip in our own experience and resources to further this cause.
We began this partnership by traveling to South Carolina to help train the GirlUp GVL instructors in safe power tool use and strategies to assist young people in collaborative building. From there, we spent 3 more weeks working directly with the students in their after school program to teach tool literacy, team work, and functional furniture construction. In the end, GirlUp students built 2 benches to expand their outdoor space and make it so “we all can sit down at once for meetings!”
This partnership was made possible with the help of the American Association of University Women, who generously granted us the funds to make our programming mobile.
Learning Outcomes of the bench building curriculum:
- Reading design schematics
- Measuring and marking
- Safe use of hand and power tools, including: drills, hand saws, clamps, palm sanders, miter saw
- Construction site teamwork and safety practices
- Basics of furniture design
- Wood grains and assembly techniques
UNC Asheville STEAM Studio
821 Riverside Dr. Ste 140
Asheville NC 28801
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