The Center For The Advancement of Women has launched an amazing campaign to make the voices of women and girls heard over the misinformed commentary of Ann Coulter.
Click here to join the campaign and sign the petition and link to this campaign! - Whitney
I’m not wealthy. Oddly enough, that makes me somewhat of a minority in my town. I live in a town in the northwest, population around 23,000 people and growing. Because most families here can afford to send their kids to top colleges, and most parents themselves attended college, the pressure to succeed in school is great. My high school consistently tests as one of the top two in my state, and my high school is loaded with expectations. The community expects kids not just to graduate, but to graduate with honors. Kids who are not team captains, honor roll placers, club presidents, distinguished musicians, artists, or thespians are often considered mundane.
I know my community is probably one of the few in the world that is like this. On one hand, I feel lucky to live here, where education is a priority for taxpayers; on the other hand, after living here since Kindergarten, I’m finally beginning to get fed up with all the expectations. To graduate from high school is a great achievement. That alone should be worthy of praise, but my community seems to demand more, more, more.
I have a friend who is in all honors classes, opinions editor on the school newspaper, president of Amnesty International, a dedicated member of the crew team, and participates in seven other time-consuming activities on top of that, among them dance lessons, more clubs, babysitting jobs and community service. Every adult who meets her absolutely adores her. She barely has time to eat dinner every night.
What’s the point of working yourself to the bone to please others and get into college? People should participate in activities that make them happy. I was in National Honor society for a year. When I joined, I thought NHS would be a place for kids who genuinely wanted to help the community and prove that teenagers can positively contribute to society. Rather, I found a group of kids who joined the club solely because it would look good on their college applications. I left the club, and I’m glad I did. Now I do community service because I’m passionate about it, not because it’s required for NHS membership.
Working hard in school and maintaining leadership positions are wonderful things. I just wish the adults in my community could all understand that those things aren’t for everyone and, in fact, college is not for everyone either. I have a friend who absolutely loves cars. His greatest dream is to become a mechanic. Just because his passion isn’t academic, and just because his career of choice doesn’t require six years of expensive college tuition, does he deserve any less respect than the math whiz who plans on attending Stanford? My car-loving friend has found his passion and wants to live it, and I think that is every bit as amazing as attending an Ivy League school.
As for me, well—my passion is writing. And I do want to go to college, and I do work hard in school. I guess, in a way, I’m falling right into the mold my community set for me. But expectations have nothing to do with it. I just want to live in and contribute to a world surrounded by books, paragraphs, articles and semicolons. It’ll probably be easier with a college education, and I’m thankful that I have that opportunity. It saddens me to know, however, that should I choose to pursue a career in fishing, my community would view me as a failure. I wish my community could better understand that academics are not everything, and recognize the passion and intelligence in every teenager, not just the so-called shining stars. College isn’t everything; there’s a big world out there.- Lilly
In 1910 Baltimore, Maryland would undergo a change forever as Pauli Murray was born and would grow up to become a civil rights advocate, lawyer, poet, feminist, teacher, and ordained minister. Murray was of African, European, and Native American decent. She attended segregated public schools and graduated from Hunter College in New York. After college, Murray could envision changing the world from its racial segregation into a place of peace and opportunity for women and minorities. She became active in the National Urban League and the Workers Defense League. She advocated civil rights for all races in struggle. She dedicated her entire life to create change within the world during a time of oppression, segregation, struggle, and violence. She accomplished many goals and was first at some of them. Murray became an attorney, a professor, an activist for rights of minorities and women, a founder for NOW, a poet, and a priest. In the 1940's she was arrested for protesting segregated seating on buses. She was a professor at Brandeis University and Vice President at Benedict College. She was first woman to graduate in 1944 at Howard University Law School, first African-American to be awarded a Doctor degree from Yale, first African-American woman to serve as assistant attorney general of California, and at age 66 she was appointed the first African-American woman priest of the Episcopal Church. She died in 1985 and it was no longer just Baltimore that changed, but the world. She demonstrated leadership, risk, and passion. Pauli Murray has helped in this revolution; the revolution that GFC is standing in the middle of today. This "woman revolution" has been going on for centuries and we are just another century that needs to make more change - Steph
Girls For A Change started out in the small communities of Silicon Valley in California. Today, GFC is now replicating to another location in Phoenix, Arizona. It is quite amazing to GFC grow and expand creating change around our country. I have been with GFC for four years and I am currently interning for them this summer. Something ground breaking has occurred this summer and not too many people know about it yet. Within the past month I have been communicating with a woman by the name of Aminata Hydara. She is the coordinator of a national youth organization called Girls Platform. Not only is GFC connecting with other national organizations, but GFC has now broken through the limitations of our own country.
Girls Platform is located in Gambia, Africa! Hydara is also the Deputy Speaker of the Western Division Youth Parliament of the National Youth Parliament of The Gambia. Hydara was born in the village of Panchang. She was exposed to many social clubs during her senior secondary. She has served on many committees as executive members and she has found great passion in creating change within her community by reaching out to young women. She said in her e-mail: "My dream is to contribute to the improvement of the life of my fellow young people especially teenage girls whose early development is hampered by traditional beliefs and practices." She believes in sharing experiences and discussing issues that young women deal with. I have been connecting with Aminata and some of the girls who are members of Girls Platform. Recently two girls sent me their profiles and photos. I am going to save that exciting information until next blog. GFC has begun a life long partnership with Aminata and this organization. We have now expanded our communications internationally. Good job Girls Platform and GFC! - Steph
Did you ever wonder who is actually watching over our cities? I am sure that most citizens imagine a person who is dedicated to their community and hopefully advocates equality and positive change. What about our city of San Jose? There are numerous people in public service who contribute to the safety of our neighborhoods. I want to shine light on one Latina woman who takes social change seriously and to a new level. Cindy Chavez is the Vice Mayor and is now currently running for Mayor. When Chavez was younger, her family moved from New Mexico in hopes for higher equality and better jobs. Cindy's father was a carpenter and her mother did a lot of volunteer work during her free time. Cindy attended San Jose State University, right in the middle of downtown San Jose. This led to a career in community work. Chavez sat on the Board of Supervisors and worked as a policy aid on health and human services. She also joined the South Bay Labor Council as Staff Director. Chavez helped design, along with others, Working Partnerships USA. This was all of Cindy's early work within the San Jose community.
In 1998 Cindy won her first election to San Jose's City Council. She focused on building beautiful urban centers, affordable housing, and promoting higher education while cleaning up San Jose schools. Four years later she was elected Vice Mayor! She works to improve downtown neighborhoods and businesses. She is Chair of the Valley Transportation Authority and she constantly works to enhance our community. Chavez sits on the Board of Directors for: Joint Venture, Silicon Valley Network, Statewide Blue Ribbon Task Force on Nanotechnology, and Planned Parenthood Mar Monte. In 2004 Chavez was in Business Journal under "Influential Women in Business" and she is on the board of the Silicon Valley Women's Alliance. This article is not too try to pursue anyone regarding the elections. This woman is just one out of many in our community that deserves to have her story told and given recognition. Girls For A Change is all about women becoming leaders in our communities and creating social change. Cindy Chavez, aside from the election, is a woman of passion for change and social reform.
For women in business participation in high-level decision making still remains low even with advanced education that women receive today. Only 20 to 40 percent of women hold managerial jobs. More women work lower status jobs than men and fewer women own businesses than men. In developed countries, women make up less than one-third of total employers.
For women in academia participation in high level positions has increased, but resources that men are receiving are much more than what women receive. More women are graduating from universities with better results than men, yet they do not receive the same amount of funding for research like men do. Women are underrepresented in positions such as Chancellor.
Although these results seem negative, numbers seem to only increase for us women. International Women’s Day is a day to celebrate being a woman but to also speak out loud about issues we face and the results of where we are at in decision-making positions for this year. The more women we have every year that recognize issues of equality end up speaking loud and clear about them, especially the ones who are at the decision-making tables today. The more we all speak for our sisters, together we will change our world, even at an international level. - GFC
Terralynn with her Mom and Bertice Berry at the PBWC Conference
Terralynn has been involved in GFC for three years. Terralynn’s team has completed several social change projects including: a violence prevention campaign, educating themselves and then their community about pregnancy prevention, and creating self-esteem workshops for students on campus. Terralynn has been a leader and visionary through every step of each project. She has gained, practiced, and shared her skills such as project management, fund-raising, networking, and teaching. Terralynn has also overcome outrageous violation and tragedy to achieve what she has in her life. In May of 2006 Terralynn was the recipient of this year’s 2006 Professional Business Women of California's scholarship in the category of female high school senior. Terralynn is a leader and a rising social entrepreneur in the healthcare profession. In her leadership of the Girls For A Change team project on pregnancy prevention, she identified gaps in access to information on pregnancy prevention and found a new way to deliver that information to the youth in her community. Recognizing that there is no community resource center and that most youth in her community lack access to the internet; parental support; or transportation, Terralynn found a new way to disseminate information. She researched and contacted several health care professionals and coordinated presentations for her Girls For A Change team. She then led the team through the process of creating a campaign to teach other students and community members about pregnancy prevention. The goal was to teach students and the community basic prevention methods and where to go for additional support. Terralynn saw a problem, provided a new method to move out and forward from that problem, and spread the knowledge widely to fundamentally change her community.
Terralynn accepts her scholarship in front of 5000 women!
Terralynn is an awe-inspiring young woman in all regards. Her goal is to become a healthcare professional and return to her community to serve those in the direst situations when she graduates from college. Congratulations Terralyn, we are so proud of you! -GFC
Ciara, 15 years old
What things are most important to you in your life? My friends are really important to me. When I feel lonely or empty or full of self pity they are there for me. I would not survive without them.
DaVaughn, 10 years old
What would you like to change in your community?
How people shoot & rape.
Griselda, 17 years old
Tell me a time when you took a leadership role? When my parents left to work out of the country and I had to be the mom.
Alicia, 11 years old
How has being in Girls For A Change made a difference in your life? It helps me to be confident.
Karina, 10 years old
What are your plans for the future?
I would like to be a singer and a teacher.
Lisbeth, 11 years old
What would you like to change in your community?
I would like to change the shootings happening in my neighborhood.
Angelica, 11 years old
How has being in Girls For A Change made a difference in your like? I feel more special because I would like to do lots of changes in my community.
At the recent Girls For A Change Spring Into Action Event we did a workshop about Blogging For Change... Below are some entries from girls who attended this event.. speaking their mind about being a girl, social change, and GFC.
Ruby, 16 years old
What is one thing that you want adults to know about young people that you think they don't know? I think that they don't know that even when we're annoyed at their nagging, deep down we still do listen to what they're saying.
Alexa, 16 years old
Tell me about a time when you took a leadership role an how it felt? I take a lot of leadership at our GFC meetings which makes me feel really responsible.
Margaret, 16 years old
What would you like to change in your community?
I would like to change the number of people that smoke and pollute the world and me. It makes me mad that people poison themselves slowly to develop a horrible disease. I would like to help people quit and not have people try it and get addicted.
Hannah, 15 years old
How has being in Girls For A Change made a difference in your life?
I feel very powerful because I am able to make changes in my community and make changes in people's lives.
