She’s the First is a club here on campus with many of the same goals of empowering women that we here at Her Campus embrace. I sat down with STF board member Tess Iding to learn a little bit more about her experiences in the club and all it has to offer.
What is the mission of She’s the First?
The official mission statement of the club is that, “She’s the First fights gender inequality through education. We support girls who will be first in their families to graduate from high school & train students everywhere to be global leaders.” The UW campus chapter of She’s the First tries to help achieve this goal through various fundraising and awareness events. We hope that through our organization, anyone, especially students, can play a direct part in helping those in need across the globe and make a difference. We know that every effort by every person counts in getting one step closer to achieving our goals!
What kind of events do you do throughout the year?
A TON! In terms of awareness events, we recently had a celebration for Day of the Girl where we handed out free coffee and pastries, along with having people sign a sheet with an adjective on how they would describe girls. We also hope to have a movie showing later in the year! Our primary events have to do with fundraising, and the events themselves vary greatly! In the fall, we always do an event called “Bake a Change,” where we host a bake sale during homecoming and we provide a cupcake catering service on campus. In the spring, we have events to support the “Sweat for STF” movement, where our members will raise money through runs and do other physical activities too. Also in the spring, we’ll have a cheese curd crawl (which was incredibly successful last year) and possibly have a grilled cheese sale; we know how much UW loves cheese related events! Throughout the year we also have various restaurant fundraisers, along with two annual popular fundraisers, which are mug decorating near the holidays and wine glass decorating around Valentine’s Day! And of course, we have plenty of socials for our members! Most recently, we’ve had game nights with an ice cream sundae bar, and we also went apple-picking in the fall!
How has STF changed your UW experience?
STF honestly made UW feel like more of a home to me. All of the members were so sweet and welcoming, and as a freshman that was very comforting. This club allowed me to meet new people, do things out of my comfort zone, and to get better acquainted with UW’s campus. Most importantly, it showed me how much power a group of students can really have in impacting their community. As cheesy as it may sound, without STF I’m not entirely sure where my life would be at this moment. It really has altered my UW experience to what it is today. I will be forever grateful to have joined this organization, and plan to remain active with it for the course of my UW career.
What is your favorite part about the club?
It’s a club that raises money and awareness for an amazing cause, and it also happens to be filled with incredibly kind-hearted members. I’ve always felt passionately about issues surrounding the topic of gender equality, and STF does a fantastic job of discussing these issues along with proactively taking measures to help those who suffer from such disparities. Through organizing fun and unique events for the Madison community, and by being able to receive letters from our scholars, this chapter demonstrates that anyone can help to change the world for the better.
How can we get involved in the STF mission?
You don’t have to be a member to get involved with the mission! Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat to get updates on our fundraisers and other events! The goal is to raise money for this amazing cause, so any contributions or support is greatly appreciated!
FB: facebook.com/shesthefirstwisconsin
Snapchat: stf-wisconsin
Instagram and Twitter: @stf_uw
And if you would like to be a member, we have meetings every other Wednesday at 7pm in Vilas Hall Room 4028! Hope to see you there!