To celebrate the success of the “One Million Collegiettes” Campaign, Her Campus Purdue decided to do a special spotlight on our newest partner, She’s The First. Because we reached our goal to have one million new collegiettes viewing HerCampus.com in February, one million site impressions will be donated to She’s The First to support their cause! Read on to find out what this remarkable organization is doing for girls around the world and what you can do to help.
The Purpose: She’s The First is a not-for profit organization that aims to give the opportunity of education for girls in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. She’s the First connects entrepreneurial-spirited young Americans with a passion for change and girls in third-world countries without the means of an education. The program is a sponsorship, where an individual or group chooses to support a potential student or project. Lets be honest though, college students don’t have a lot of extra cash lying around. So why is the organization asking young people for something we don’t have? Well, collegiettes, what we do have, is a strong social network of peers and the creativity to come up with fundraisers at our schools. She’s The First has developed a way to fund girls’ education, while also building up leadership and philanthropy within America’s rising generation.
The Beginning Vision: The organization was launched November 1, 2009, headed by Tammy Tibbetts, a 23-year-old website editor, and Christen Brandt, a junior at Syracuse University. The two women combined their visions after both reading an article over the shocking amount of teenage mothers in Liberia. Instead of finding the cause of the high pregnancy rates, the article took the view that girls needed to be married in order to be mothers. Tibbetts and Brandt agreed that forcing the girls of Liberia to become young wives wasn’t the solution. Someone needed to address the roots of the problem, starting with the lack of education. After many conversations, Tibbetts and Brandt gathered a team of visionaries, all under the age of 25, to get their plans in action.
The name “She’s The First” comes from the hope that the organization has to sponsor girls in developing countries: for the girls to be the first in their families to graduate, first women presidents, first women to become a doctor in their village, first to fall out of the path that lack of education leads.
A Little Math: Here are some statistics linked on She’s The First’s website collected by Girls Discovered to put the need in perspective.
- “In Mali, only 22.5% of girls aged 15-24 years are literate.”
- “In Somalia and Chad, over half of the girls are engaged in child labour.”
- “In Guinea-Bissau, less than 7% of girls aged 15 are in the correct grade at school.”
- “In Pakistan, just 3% of girls aged 15-24 years have a comprehensive understanding of HIV.”
- “In Niger, nearly 80% of young women currently aged 20-24 years have no education.”
Take Action: Heartbreaking, isn’t it? Do something about it! Here are some ways She’s the First helps you fight these numbers:
1. Visit shesthefirst.org. Check out their blog, read their bio, look through their projects and see if anything sparks your interest. Educating yourself and staying informed on what She’s the First is doing is the first step in leading your own fundraisers.
2. Browse through She’s the First’s fundraising tips at shesthefirst.org/fundraising-tips. Choose one of their fun ideas, or choose one of your own. Brainstorm with some friends and get inventive!
3. Decide on a girl to sponsor. Look through shesthefirst.org/category/directory and read thought the stories. If you are having trouble deciding, email info@shesthefirst.org for more information.
4. After you’ve thought up with a fabulous fundraiser, gathered your fearless team, and raised money for your project, fill out the form on shesthefirst.org/donate.
5. Not sure fundraisers are your expertise? You can purchase items that companies have made in support of the cause, from baked goods to jewelry, that contributes to the ongoing She’s the First Projects. Visit shesthefirst.org/category/projects/gifts to see the latest item.
Credit: girlsdiscovered.org
shesthefirst.com
Photo credit: shesthefirst.com