I giant Thank You to those this week who helped me get closer to my Fundraising Goal! I am now at $3760.
Thank You!
This comes during a week of amazing news. The Central Valley Chapter of Days for Girls has made its first local contact who will be delivering our kits to Girls who need them.When I Grow Up is a non-profit based out of Reedley, CA. Who would have guessed? They establish schools and provide scholarships for children in Kenya, Haiti and Guatemala.
After speaking with the director she has asked for 70 kits to be taken and distributed to their school in Kenya which they will be visiting at the end of May. The kits we have been sewing for the past 3 months are now bagged and ready to be delivered on Monday! Another huge Thank You to those of you who have donated time and resources to these kits. I know we all look forward to hearing the stories and pictures When I Grow Uphas promised to bring back.
For any of you have not heard of Kiva yet, take two seconds to learn how to change the life of a family dramatically.
Currently Kiva is offering to pay for your first loan of $25. Once the loan is repaid you can keep using that $25 dollars to spend on additional loans.
Kiva is a micro-lending organization that allows people to aquire small loans to fund business ventures. These loans are distributed world-wide to people who are considered to be unloanable. It is amazing to look through the loans and see the difference just $100 can make in the life of an individual abroad.
Since joining a year ago I find Kiva addicting. I love reading through the stories and finding women that I connect with. Some based on age, others their story of what they are trying to accomplish. It is an amazing program that again lets you connect in a very peronal way with women abroad.
I would encourage all of you to sign up today Become a Member and start making a difference in the life of another! I promise you, you’ll never regret it!
This is the book that altered my course so dramatically upon my return from China. It is the book I recommend to all women and any man with a sister, daughter or MOTHER.
A friend mentioned there was an exhibit for the book at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles. So of course I had to go while here in Los Angeles for the Women’s Funding Network Summit.
I was blown away but the beauty of the exhibit but most importantly the interactive nature of the exhibit which allowed the participant to Act then and there!
The exhibit goes through the various sections of the book. “Confronting the malign persistence of sex trafficking, gender-based violence, and maternal mortality, the exhibition tells stories of women from around the globe who have changed their lives through education, economics, and self-determination.”
We walked through with a docent who expanded upon the background of each of the sections presented. It was beautifully documented and the art and multimedia pieces selected enhanced the experience.
As the tour concluded we were invited to complete 5 activities.
60 Million Women Missing
The first was to color in a circle representing one of the 60 million women missing worldwide.
These women are missing for a variety of reasons: sex selective abortions, maternal deaths, deaths from lack of health care as sons health took precedence, or trafficking as well as others.
Next were postcards to send to your Californian Senators encouraging Box and Feinstein to increase aid going to women and girls and those international programs that have the greatest affect on them.
As you purchased your ticket to the exhibit you were given a donation card which you could then activate at one of the action centers at the end. It was a donation code which allow you to direct $1.00 from one of the supporting companies towards a a program of your choice.
A wish for a women in need...
Another center was one in which on a colored piece of paper you wrote a wish for women in the Congo. While the exhibit is on display these wishes are collected daily and then added to the sky above the exhibit.
Once the exhibit closes all the wishes made will be sent to the Congo to be read by the women them.
It was neat to contribute to the breath taking sky that floats above the images.
The last desk asked 2 questions:
What did you learn?
What do you plan on doing with this information?
Your answer could be written then pined to a board or taken home.
It was a wonderful afternoon. For anyone traveling to the Los Angeles area it is a must see.
Celeste emailed me last month informing me about an upcoming women’s conference being held in Los Angeles. As the registration was a little steep for my budget she suggested volunteering. The conference is hosted by the Women’s Funding Network.
Chelsea the director of the Los Angeles DfG Chapter also signed up to volunteer and opended her home for me to stay at during the conference. We agreed to exchange DfG Chapter information and spending the downtime working on the resource book, a fun filled week for both of us.
Tuesday we had volunteered to help setup for the conference which was to begin on Thursday. We arrived at the Baltimore Hotel early to meet with Dayna the volunteer coordinator. We waited in the lobby unsure as to where exactly we were to meet. We came across another confused volunteer and waited together until Dayna arrived.
I was shocked when I met Dayna, this whole time I had been expecting an older women but Dayna was no older than I. The morning went quickly as we stuffed bags and organized the information to be passed out at the conference. The staff was friendly and engaging. I enjoyed getting to know the staff and the other volunteers.
I am looking forward to the workshops and talks to come in the next few days.
When searching for a cause to help I sought out a cause that directly impacted girls’ education and women’s ability to work as those are two key issues in empowering women world wide.
Days for Girls International does focus a greater portion of their resources internationally as that is were there is a greater need regarding this issue. DfGI has and is currently working with areas within the United States that have requested kits. Homeless shelters in Arizona have received kits to distribute to those in need of a sustainable solution.
Sustainable solutions for menstruation is not just for developing countries. It is something that has just begun to gain wide spread notoriety domestically. With the mainstreaming of solutions such as the Diva Cup, Keeper and Lunapads the market is beginning to reflect the consumers desire for a more sustainable environmentally friendly alternative to disposable pads and tampons.
I stumbled across the blog below that shared more about this shift in products and the benefits of making the switch.
Janine Keblish raises awareness for Days for Girls International by breaking the World Record for Most Pair of Underwear Worn at Once on Feb. 9, 2012 in Seattle, WA. This coverage was done by Michael King for Evening Magazine on KING 5 TV
Janine is an amazing woman, I had the pleasure of meeting her when I attended the Days for Girls Retreat in March.
Earlier this week I received an e-mail with the following question…
What would you say to a group of teenage girls about DfG?
Tons, when I was 16 I choose to do a student exchange to Argentina. It was there that I began understanding what life was really like outside the comforts of the United States.
As a teenager I had always wanted to make a difference, this is something that I think all teenagers want, even if not openly expressed. We want the opportunity to stand up and prove ourselves. Doing this on a global level can be daunting, and even if that is our desire the opportunities can be hard to find. Days For Girls is exactly the opportunity many are seeking. It is a small project that has a magnificent effect on a global level. Each kit made has a profound and direct impact on the life a woman or teenage girl on another continent. The opportunities this kit provides reflects opportunities that we in the developed world take for granted on a monthly bases. When finding opportunities to serve we find many organizations to which we can donate money which will go to a great cause but our donation can seem to get lost in the grand scope of their project.
Days for Girls Kits are personal; they affect a girl their own age in the same stage of life, middle school or high school. High school creates a huge divide in the developing world. For each year of high school a girl attends in a developing country her average income later in life increases by 15-25%.[2] In countries where women are making less than $2 a day, the importance of 4 years of high school is vital. Studies have shown “about 70% of girls fail to attend school during their monthly periods because they do not use proper sanitary wear. School attendance registers show that girls are absent for at least four days every month.” [3] When added together this accumulates to 2 weeks every school term, and close to 24 weeks in 4 years of high school.[4] Often before a girl reaches her second year in high school she is pulled out by her family as the numbers of days missed no longer make her school fees a valuable investment in the family. She is pulled out, jeopardizing her future, in many cases as a direct result of lacking sanitary napkins.
As it spoke of improper sanitary napkins above, some girls are able to manage their monthly cycle but the methods used put them at risk. “ A shocking report by the Integrated Sustainable Livelihoods (ISL) has revealed that due to lack of resources, some young girls in Zimbabwe are using pieces of cloth, newspapers, cow dung and tissues as sanitary wear during their monthly menstruation.”[5] Other areas report the use of stones and corn husks. These materials are not only uncomfortable and unreliable; they are also a danger to the girls’ health. The numbers of infections caused by these methods are alarming and if left untreated can result in permanent damage.
It is not a hopeless fight. By providing a sustainable kit a girl can recover each one of these lost days. A Days for Girls kit is created to last up to 3 years. We have just received news from a school in Kenya who received our first kits over 2 years ago, their shields are holding up beautifully, the liners are beginning to wear but that is to be expected as they are the most used piece of the napkin. The liners are easily replaced and the kit can remain functioning for many more months to come.
So how can you make a difference? Be aware of the issue. Look around your house, what do you have that you could donate to these kits, each kit includes: bar soap, underwear, safety pins, washcloths, gallon Ziploc brand freezer bags, shields, liners and a drawstring bag. The first few kit elements are things we have or are cheaply accessible at any store. The remaining pieces are sewn, but require: fabric, polyester thread, drawstring, etc. What do you have lying around that could be used to construct these final pieces of the kit?
Days for Girls encourages all levels of participation, you can sew kit elements or simply collect and donate the other items that can help create kits. As you find the area that is best for you, you can be assured that you are making a profound impact on the life of a fellow sister. We are all Daughters of our Heavenly Father and greatly loved by Him. As we reach out and help those who at times struggle to remember their worth we can make an impact!
I think this project speaks to teenage girls directly and would make a wonderful Value project. Many of them are just beginning to see the greater world around them and finding opportunities now to engage themselves can help find purpose and direction.
Time is ticking. I have reached my halfway mark in the fundraising but have plateaued and need to pick up speed. For those who would still like to contribute donations via Paypal (http://www.daysforgirls.org/donate) this option will be available through May 15th.
I take full responsibility for a last min fundraising campaign and have much to learn about organizing fundraisers, so lets get down to the basics.
Bake Sale, Yard Sale, Car Wash, Lemonade Stand
Personally I like the Lemonade Stand best but we all remember what happened to that cute little 7 year-old in ’09 and I just don’t think I’d stand a chance if she didn’t.
Yard Sale it is!
Our long time neighbors have offered a yard on a well traversed street and the date has been set, May 12th. In order to make the most of the yard sale I invite everyone to donate items. You can drop them off at the Reagan’s home before the 10th or I’d be happy to make arrangements to pick up items before hand. The goal is to raise $500.
Hi friends and family. This is Nathan posting. I just finished creating a tracker to show the funding progress to date! Kayte will tell you she has raised $3,000. What she hasn’t told you is that $1,000 is her own money and another $1,300 is my parents’.
I’ve been racking my brain for ideas to help her raise the last $3k. The best I’ve come up with so far is starting a donation challenge that if I can get $500 dollars in pledges I’ll shave my head. Obviously, I’m getting despereate. But hey, let me know what you think of the idea, or help me brainstorm!
Learn more about the need for Kayte’s trip to Africa here: http://blog.addingstamps.com/2012/04/the-opportunity-of-a-life-time/
I'm once again back in the States. I have just begun down the path of my future into the world of Non-Profits and Social Movements. I look forward to documenting my journey as I develop my passion for helping empower women world wide!
