Girls Write Now Mentee Chyonika Roy Testified at NYC Preliminary FY25 Budget Youth Services Hearing
New York, NY – March 22, 2024
Last month, Girls Write Now Mentee Chyonika Roy was one of seven young people who testified at the NYC Preliminary FY25 Budget Youth Services Hearing on the impact that Girls Write Now, a STARS Citywide Girls Initiative (CGI) organization, has had on her. She called on the Council to restore STARS CGI funding for the 2025 fiscal year.
STARS CGI is a coalition of 10 leading nonprofits spanning disciplines—sports, literature, art, activism, and beyond. Over the past decade, they have joined forces to advocate for girls, young women, and gender-expansive youth from systemically underserved communities—supporting their growth emotionally, academically, and physically to be strong, skilled, and successful leaders. Girls Write Now has been a proud member of the STARS CGI coalition since its inception.
In her powerful testimony, Chyonika said, “Girls Write Now is an amazing community which pairs young women and gender-expansive youth, like myself, with amazing mentors, who do everything from supporting you when you want to cry about an exam, to helping you find internships and jobs… I do not know what I would do without my mentor. They make my life richer.”
Watch her full testimony above.
Girls Write Now has been the most important thing for me as I transition from high school to college.
Chyonika Roy, Mentee