Fifth and sixth grade girls are being empowered with knowledge, acceptance and freedom of individual body types with the help of 33 female NIU students.

The group of students are working together through “Girl Power,” a volunteer program that aims to address eating habits and body image concerns.

Ricki Giersch heads the program, which recently put on a 45-minute multimedia presentation for 400 fifth and sixth grade girls at Clinton-Rosette Middle School in DeKalb.

Each of the NIU students will mentor one of the girls. Starting in February, they will travel to Clinton-Rosette to spend an hour a week with their mentees, helping them through a workbook titled “Working as a Team to Enhance Eating Habits and Self-Esteem.”

The mentoring will continue for three months, with after-school meetings with girls chosen randomly from a pool of about 200 voluntary applicants.

A research team, supervised by Holly Orcutt, an assistant professor in the psychology department, evaluates the program at its completion.

Giersch, a health education instructor at NIU, proposed the pilot “Girl Power” program six months ago and brought the idea to Clinton-Rosette.

“Whether girls see movies, TV shows or magazine pictures, they definitely recognize an emphasis on a certain body type. But the reality is that less than 5 percent will attain that idealized image,” Giersch said. “Not everyone is over 5’7″ and under 120 pounds with perfect proportions. Beauty comes in all shapes and sizes.”

The cost of the program so far is about $1,700, Giersch said. Counseling and Adult Health Education and other sources have contributed money. The mentors are not compensated financially, but many receive internships or academic credit for their work.

“It’s good for the college girls, as well as the younger ones,” said Kathryn Zook, a mentor and sophomore elementary education major. “There’s a lot of focus in the media on being thin and perfect, but I know guys myself that would rather not date a girl who’s rail-thin.”

Melissa Kent, a mentor and a junior health education major, said young girls may develop eating disorders and other problems that she wants to help prevent.

“I hope I can have a positive influence,” Kent said. “We want the girls to feel better about themselves and not to be so concerned about what others think.”

Girls try to look and act older than they really are, said Denise McLindon, a sixth grade counselor at Clinton-Rosette.

“Clothes have definitely gotten more revealing over the years,” McLindon said. “You can’t find clothes that aren’t trashy. All these young girls feel so much pressure to fit a certain model of looks.”

Boys who are curious about what the girls are doing are asking to participate in a similar group, McLindon said. Giersch eventually wants to implement a program that would involve boys.

“I think boys do face body image concerns, but we have to start somewhere,” Giersch said. “Right now, we chose to work with girls because they’re targeted by the media.”

For information about becoming a mentor, call Giersch at 753-8293.