Thursday, November 1, 2012

It's Our Birthday! Celebrate with us!





It's our fourth birthday and we thought you might like to hear how this all started.

We
didn't mean to start a movement. Celeste was only trying to help children at an orphanage live better. She says, "I thought I had found my calling. Then one morning at 2:30 AM I woke with a startling thought,'Have you asked what the girls are doing for feminine hygiene?" I had never considered it. I ran to the computer to email the question. The answer came almost immediately, "Nothing. They wait in their rooms.' I tried to imagine how girls waited in overcrowded rooms, Bunks stacked end to end. Friends and I worked to send money for disposable pads that month, but I knew even if we could raise money every month, the center would likely use it for food. I was returning to Kenya in just 3 weeks. What could we do? Volunteers worked to make washable kits. The girls were so grateful not to have to miss school, not to have to wait in their rooms. But they shocked me with another statement, now they would not have to let their school director 'use' them just to stay in class. That was the moment Days for Girls was born."


Celeste says, "People ask if I started this organization and I usually answer, 'I'm the really good listener who gets to prove every day that people are truly amazing.' 
Today, just 4 years later, Days for Girls International empowers girls, women and communities in 29 nations on 5 continents, tackling large systemic challenges with a simple solution that is turning out to be key to social change.    In the past 4 years our programs and amazing volunteers and contributors have worked together to reach 60,000 plus girls and women, trained over 150 Ambassadors of Women's Health in 3 nations and saved approximately 8,640,000 days for girls and women worldwide. There are now thousands of grassroots volunteers worldwide. 27 Days for Girls Chapters working around the globe to lift communities, family and women... one pad at a time. And the results have been phenomenal.
Okay, the candles are all lit now and everyone at Days for Girls has burst into song. The rest is up to you.
To Celebrate our Birthday we ask you to join us in VOTING for Days for Girls in the Girl Effect ChallengeThis Challenge will be taking place throughout the month of November. Winning the Girl Effect Challenge would be a HUGE honor and empower Days for Girls to reach even more girls. Help us reach our Birthday Wish, VOTE today!