This past week girls all around the nation were celebrating Girls Inc. Girl’s Rights Week, an annual celebration of girls advocating for their rights and positive change in the world.  This year’s theme is Healthy Girls, Healthy Communities.   Their project was to examine their neighborhoods and schools to identify opportunities, barriers and solutions around physical activity.  I love that we have created a week for girls to take action around their communities and schools. But I think we need more then a week!  We all can be out in the world every day creating change. Since the focus this week was about having a healthy girls and healthy communities, our family decided to go take action at the beach! We volunteered to do to a  beach clean up with our community.  It was so rewarding to be out there with people walking up and down the beach, helping take care of something that means so much to me.  And the 8 year old in my life got to feel the power of taking action and doing an esteem-able act!   What other suggestions do you have for teaching girls to be healthy and active while taking action? Write in and tell us your stories and ideas. And don’t forget to check out Girls Inc. org and read all the stories from girls making a difference in the world!

I was recently lucky enough to be a participant in an important panel discussion sponsored by Girls, Inc. Along with Dana Buchman, designer; Shelly Lazarus, Chairman of Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide; Cindi Leive, Editor-in-Chief of Glamour; and Dr. Jennifer Wider, a women’s health expert, author, and radio host, I addressed all-too common issues facing young women today.

From the stress to be perfect to the gender stereotypes we still face in school and in the workplace, nothing was off-limits, and the discussion was fast and furious! It made me realize how fortunate I am to be in a space where I can affect change, and I am excited to hear what you have to think about the solutions we offered! Click here to watch the footage and then comment below to make your voice heard!

Girls Inc. and Jess Weiner share a common goal: to help all girls realize their potential and their ability to do anything they set their minds to. However, intense pressure and persistent gender stereotypes can keep them from their goals, and Jess participated in an event that addressed these very issues and gave practical solutions to the challenges that girls face.

On October 13^th, Jess was part of an amazing panel of women–which included Dana Buchman, designer; Shelly Lazarus, Chairman of Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide; Cindi Leive, Editor-in-Chief of Glamour; and Dr. Jennifer Wider, a women’s health expert, author, and radio host–all gathered together to discuss one thing: how to help the next generation of leaders manage their stress to become strong, smart and bold. Click here to watch Jess in action in this important video for everyone who believes in creating an equitable society and then join the conversation yourself and let us know what you think!!!

Dove is encouraging you to joining forces with Girl Scouts, The Boys and Girls Club of America and Girls INC.  by supporting their amazing self-esteem programs. Your support is essential, every Dove purchase counts! Every time you buy Dove products $1.00 will be donated to the program of your choice.

Girl Scouts has created, Uniquely Me! a self-esteem curriculum, so more girls can recognize their own individual strengths and feel empowered.

Boys and Girls Club of America’s program is called SMART Girls, a self-esteem program encouraging healthy attitudes and and lifestyles so early adolescent girls can each their full potential.

Girls INC has the Grow Mind + Body initiative, a program to help girls form and maintain a healthy, confident sense of self in todays challenging environment.

These organizations are doing an amazing job by impacting positively young girls lives nationwide. They need your support to continue building and making a reality their wonderful mission.

Just click on the following link when you buy Dove products. Remember, every contribution counts!

https://secure.dove.us/tyfmad/upc_donation.aspx?SessionUID=52608365-eca2-4f8a-b5f9-977bf1312d9b

Eileen Fisher and Girls, Inc. have partnered up for a special, one day only, shopping event to celebrate Eileen Fisher’s 25th anniversary! Go to any Eileen Fisher on Saturday, 9/26, and 10% of your purchase proceeds will go to Girls, Inc.: an amazing organization dedicated to inspiring all girls to be strong, smart, and bold! Bad weather, or no store nearby? No problem because the deal also applies to their website! So, buy some new fall fashions and help out a great organization by clicking here for more info.

GIRLS INC. PRESENTS: YOU’RE AMAZING!
- CLAIRE MYSKO

In The Supergirl Dilemma, a recent report commissioned by Girls Incorporated, more than 1,000 girls grades 3-12 shared stories of feeling increasing pressure to be perfect all of the time. GIRLS INC. PRESENTS: YOU’RE AMAZING! is the first guide to help girls give up the quest to be “super” and start celebrating what makes them remarkable.

A solution to gender stereotypes and mixed messages, GIRLS INC. PRESENTS: YOU’RE AMAZING! addresses issues challenging girls today—family, school, body image, crushes, and the future—and empowers girls to find the inner voice that makes them unique, special, and above all, amazing! Packed with Girls Inc. activities, quizzes, insight from girls and older teens, and advice from women role models including a NASA engineer, female bloggers, MTV’s SuChin Pak, Self-Esteem expert Jess Weiner, and Paralympic athlete Bonnie St. John, the book gives girls tools and tips to feel good about who they are.

Claire Mysko is a writer, media consultant, and the co-founder of Inside Beauty, a body image outreach program she created with model Magali Amadei. She also blogs about healthy beauty at 5 Resolutions to Transform the Fashion and Beauty Industries. Claire has served as the Assistant Director of Communications at Girls Inc., the Executive Editor of SmartGirl, and the Director of the American Anorexia Bulimia Association.
Claire holds a master’s degree in gender studies from The New School
for Social Research.

For more about the author, please visit www.clairemysko.com.
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