on life, ambitions, and dreams

Change the Statistics: Join the Girl Effect

When I first saw this video, it shook my world. As someone who works in the nonprofit sector focusing on global development, these statistics were not new. But as a millennial that is moved by infographics and visual story, this message went straight to my core.

Did you know that for a girl living in poverty…

  • 96 million girls in developing countries are illiterate.
  • By 2016 almost 165 million girls will be married before the age of 18.
  • Half of sexual assaults worldwide are against girls younger than 15.
  • Less than two cents of every international aid dollar is directed at the solution of adolescent girls.

I needed to do something.

So I did. The Girl Effect inspired me to design Jolkona’s Give to Girls campaign last March.

Invest in the women of tomorrow by giving to girls today

We launched Give to Girls, a campaign to educate, empower, and provide health care for women and girls around the world. Or as we branded it – to invest in the women of tomorrow by giving to girls today.

We launched Give to Girls on March 8th, which was the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day, and our community responded. In one day, we raised $6,000 in micro-donations (aka increments of $5, $40, and $100, etc.), which was the single highest day of fundraising Jolkona has seen to date! And we closed the campaign by raising $10,000 through the end of the month. I’m still proud of how the Jolkona community responded and the impact we made in a mere three weeks.

50 million girls live in poverty; that’s 50 million solutions

I’m not asking you to save a girl by donating (though, supporting grassroots organizations who are doing work on-the-ground is the best way to be a part of a massive change). Heck, I’m not even asking you to be a feminist.

But I am asking you to do something.

Think about going to school, learning to read, and to write. Think about graduating. Think about choosing the college of your dreams and the major of your choice. Think about graduating and landing that first big job – or starting your very first company. Now think about the intangibles, think about who made you who you are. Think about the qualities of your personality, your strengths and your weaknesses, and what doors you were able to push open because of the opportunities like access to a great education, provided for you.

Now imagine where you would be if you didn’t have those things. If you didn’t have this thing called a “choice.”

Would you be who you are today and where you are today if you were one of the girls in the Girl Effect video?

The clock is ticking

I’m not asking you to save the world. But if there’s one thing you do today, will you share this video with one person – be it a friend or a stranger or someone who helped change the statistics for you.

Share this movement with someone you care about and introduce them to the Girl Effect.

Because if you don’t help change the statistics for one of these girls, who will?

This post is part of the Girl Effect Blogging Campaign, organized by the amazing Tara Sophia Mohr. You can read all of the 520+ Girl Effect Blog posts, by visiting this page.

Statistics via the Girl Effect

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One Response

  1. With you 100%, remember showing the first Girl Effect video at Gnomedex and the room going silent and then erupting.  Accurate, w/clear and concise call to action for maximum impact – just what I want to see and know from any non-profit.  My $ will do what exactly?

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