GEMS Adjust to Pandemic

GEMS (Girls Everywhere Meeting the Savior) is adapting its ministry amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The nonprofit has created a resource called "GEMS on the Go." It's an activity box that counselors can bring to their girls, and includes a badge and a craft.

GEMS has worked to serve clubs that might be operating in one of five scenarios: in person, online, at a distance where meeting in person or online is not possible, a hybrid solution, or activities led by parents or guardians in the home. The GEMS "Friended" theme this year has a 1950s look to it, so one club had a 1950s-themed, physically distanced club kit pick-up party in order to distribute the resources to the kids — and from there they will continue to gather virtually.

GEMS was founded in 1958 by Barbara Vredevoogd in Grand Rapids as a Christian Reformed Church ministry to young girls. Today, GEMS are for girls in 1st through 8th grade, with age-appropriate material used at each level. GEMS clubs primarily meet in churches, but they also gather in apartment complexes and elsewhere.

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