Since 2008

Our Story

Girls Nite In International was born in the girls’ restroom at a public high school.

Creating a safe refuge

GNI founder Jimmelynn Rice was teaching at the high school when girls making self-destructive choices began coming to her for help and guidance – before, during, and after school.

Jimme began intentionally taking her breaks in the girls’ restroom, rather than the faculty lounge, knowing that the restroom is often a girl’s safe place, either to be vulnerable or when she is hurting. She loved girls through pregnancy fears, bullying, purging, suicidal thoughts, self-harm, addiction, and abusive family members.

Jimme could not get these girls’ stories out of her head or heart and became consumed with a passion to create a safe refuge where girls know that they are welcome, wanted, valued, and loved^®.

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In 2008, she decided to open the basement of her home to discuss real life, hard topics in a structured format. She was anticipating about 10-12 girls, but on the first evening, 55 girls showed up.

In 2011, a well-known radio network picked up the story of Girls Nite In and aired it nationally. As a result, requests began to pour in from all across the country wanting to begin a chapter of Girls Nite In in their city. The Girls Nite In program is now available in a complete turnkey format/solution for any community and has launched groups in 8 states and 5 countries.

GNI now reaches middle school, high school, college-age girls, and young moms.

Our vision is that this life-changing movement of HOPE brings help and healing to generations of girls and women around the globe.

Kristi-Hardin-2010-Nov-Jimme-with-3-girls-scaled

Mission & Vision

Mission: Mentoring and empowering teen girls and their families to make wise choices through addressing life- altering issues and negative cultural influences, thereby providing the tools to rescue them from self-destructive behavior. Offering a place of refuge, trust, hope, and healing. Providing life guidance based on Principles of Truth.

Vision: To mentor and empower young women across the globe to make wise choices by offering refuge, trust, hope, healing, and life guidance. To empower, energize, mobilize, and deploy a global network of women to lead Girls Nite In Affiliates – thereby influencing and mentoring generations.

How Do we accomplish this?

Provide a Safe Refuge

Provide a Safe Refuge – a place of safety where teen girls address
the issues with which they struggle as well as filter negative cultural
influences

Provide a Structured Framework

Provide a Structured Framework – a monthly group setting where a
personal story is shared by a speaker who has overcome self-destructive behavior and whose life has been transformed

Give young women tools

Give young women the tools to analyze their decisions and guide
them toward wise choices that will alter the course of their lives
through the teaching of Principles of Truth

Provide Mentors and Role Models

Provide successful, engaging, positive female mentors as role models

Principles of Truth

Provide life-guiding teaching based on Principles of Truth

Provide Small group sessions

Provide small group session time in which mentors facilitate peer
discussion to encourage each other to make wise decisions

Leadership

Jimmelynn Garland Rice, Founder & CEO

Jimmelynn is a visionary leader, culture-creator, speaker, writer, mentor, former public school teacher and music educator, professional musician & recording artist, worship leader, co-founding pastor and church planter with her husband, and Founder/CEO of Girls Nite In International.
The instant you meet Jimmelynn (affectionately called Jimme), you realize her heart is as big as the globe. You are immediately captivated and pulled into the warmth of her huge welcoming hug, and
feel safe, accepted, and deeply loved.

While teaching at a public high school in 2008, Jimme became excruciatingly aware of intense struggles our teens face daily. Jimme so wisely shares that “Our teens do not live in a PG-13 world… but are trapped in X and XXX-rated constantly.” Jimme felt compelled to begin a mentoring group, Girls Nite In
International, for teen girls which quickly exploded into a global movement with affiliate groups across the country and around the globe.

Sensing the urgent need to help families of GNI girls and the community, Jimme and her husband, Rodney, co-founded a new church plant a year later, Church@Main (www.churchatmain.org), where they pastor, serve, and lead.

Jimme’s life became permanently altered in 2015 when she was diagnosed with late-stage, chronic Lyme Disease after almost a year of seeing over 15 doctors and specialists. Jimme continues to fight for her life every day as there is no cure for Lyme Disease, but she has gained a significant amount of healing
through very aggressive, cutting-edge ongoing treatment regimens. Her story and subsequent battle fighting for her life against this vicious disease can be found here (gofundme.come/TeamJimme).

Jimme is determined to give hope and inspire others to fight their own battles through encouragement, life-coaching and speaking engagements through her GOD’S NOT DONE® movement.

Jimme is married to Rodney, her college sweetheart, proud Mama to her 3 grown children: Kristi, Jason and Blake, whom she lovingly calls her life’s work and greatest joy, “Ji Ji” to her 6 loved and adored granddarlin’s, and dog mama to the newest member of the family, Bentley Tucker Blu.

Enjoying creating designs that delight and nourish your soul – Jimme is also a sought-after designer and Owner/Design Consultant of Jimme Design Studio & Boutique (facebook.com/jimmedesign)

Jimmelynn’s purpose, life-calling and mission from God is to reach the globe and every life she touches and inspires with her trademarked words that forever changes your life: “You are welcome, wanted,
valued, and loved”®

A leader of mentors – Jimme has committed her life to empowering, energizing, inspiring, mobilizing and deploying a global network of women to mentor and dramatically impact this next generation!

Jimmelynn’s passion is to be a World Changer – bringing a message of HOPE, healing, life-guidance and God’s Love to everyone she meets!

Kristi Hardin, Director of Operations

After struggling with a severe eating disorder in high school, Kristi knew she wanted to help teen girls work through and recover from mental health struggles.
She graduated from Indiana University with degrees from the Kelly School of Business and the School of Health and Human Sciences and applied for a position at a faith-based residential treatment center in Nashville, TN. To her huge disappointment and shock, she did not get the job. Kristi eventually accepted and enjoyed corporate roles in finance and contracts for 9 years but all along still felt called to help teen girls.