No One Can Keep Us Down

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Many people think that girls have equitable pay, but that is not the case. (Believe me, I have heard a couple of people in the locker room.) Even though we legally have equal rights, society expects different things from men and women. We need to promote girls, not just for us to have more power, but to achieve equality.

The bigger problem, though, is in underdeveloped countries, where girls cannot even go to school or may have to walk for hours just to get a bucket of water that might be filled with diseases. This is why Girl Up was started: to help the girls that need it most. Avani Sethi and Ayesha Ashraf came up with the idea, and it was generically named the “Alsion Girl Up Club” or, more commonly, “Girl Up” at our school.

At our school, Girl Up has nine girls in it, and we have held multiple fundraisers to help raise almost $450 in three months. We have had three fundraisers so far, and each has been very successful. The first was the Girl Up Bake sale, and we had a variety of items such as rice krispies, brownies of various types, cupcakes, cotton candy, and more. In total, we raised about $100. The second fundraiser was not part of school, and each of the members went to local neighborhoods during Halloween to ask for money for the club. This was also very successful, with a total amount of more than $100. After this, we started thinking, “Why not have our own club?”

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This is because even though the UN is a trusted foundation, we weren’t too sure about any middlemen. Furthermore, the first $200 we raised were going towards bikes for girls in Guatemala (they still are), but because of a cultural gender bias, the families receiving the bikes may have given them to their sons.

By creating a separate organization from the UN, the club was able to have more ownership of its activities, fundraising style and donations.  We started debating over ideas, and eventually settled on holding a feminine products drive. We raised about $220 worth of feminine hygiene products. Some packs cost $10, others cost up to $20, and much more.  We were able to donate these feminine products directly to a homeless shelter without going through the UN.

Overall, the new club has been very successful and we hope to donate more in the future.