1. Provide the ticket to a better life: clean water.
Did you know that instead of attending class, girls and women around the world spend 200 million hours each day getting water that is often dirty and dangerous to their health. If they had clean water close at hand, there’s so much more they could do: attend school, play, spend time with their families, and start a business — to name a few. You can help provide clean water and open the door to a better life for a girl. This way you are not only helping them but also you empower them.
2. Support girls and women in crisis.
Millions of girls are subjected to abuse, child labor, trafficking, child marriage, and other offenses. Your gift will go where it’s needed most, protecting girls and women by equipping skilled, local staff to offer training, education, counseling, medical care, small business loans, and other programs that reach women and girls as well as boys — helping to end cycles of gender-based violence.
3. Mentor a girl close to home.
Many girls growing up in the United States are held back by poverty, poor-performing schools, and teen violence. Reach out and influence the life of a girl in your own community by volunteering as a tutor or mentor. One way to establish a mentorship is through Big Brothers, Big Sisters.
Help every girl and woman feel valued.
4. Invest in a small business owner.
Through microloans, you can connect with hardworking female entrepreneurs who are waiting to realize their dream of building or expanding a successful business. A small loan is all they need. Even better, when the loan is paid off, your donated funds are recycled again and again to help more people and make a bigger impact. For more info check out Nancy Etz
5. Use your voice to help keep girls in school.
When girls stay in school and finish secondary education, a lot of good things happen for them and their families. They enjoy better health and can take care of themselves and their children. They live longer, marry later, earn higher wages, and are more active participants in community life. Yet, 130 million girls ages 6 to 17 are out of school. Your support for the Keeping Girls in School Act can help more adolescent girls around the world to stay in school and receive a high-quality education.
6. Help a new mom.
The first 1,000 days of a child’s life — from conception to age 2 — are the most critical. You can help save young lives around the world by giving a new mother the essential things like a bassinet, cloth diapers, blankets, a container for clean water, and soap. Your gift also provides life-saving infant care training. Know a new mom near you who might be feeling overwhelmed? Mothers of Preschoolers connects moms of young children all over the world to a community of women in their own neighborhoods who meet together to embrace the journey of motherhood.
7. Tell the women in your life that you care.
Want to encourage and empower girls and women? Start right in your own home, workplace, and community. Write a note of thanks to that teacher who encouraged you years ago, pick up coffee for that new mom in your office who’s struggling to balance it all, or tell your own sister, daughter, or mother how much you appreciate them.