It starts with one voice. I speak up and while, I won’t be ignored, combining my voice with yours will make our calls stronger. Your representative in Washington listens. 

Last month the GirlUp Club from Westfield Friends School in Cinnaminson, New Jersey had an eventful day. A fundraiser was held in Cherry Hill, New Jersey to benefit Girl Up with the help from a local chapter of a global women's organization called the Daughters of Penelope.

Since I was four years old, it has been my mother and me against the world. So, my mother is my biggest role model and the most influential person in my life.

My mother's belly was rapidly expanding. “Is it a boy?” many would ask. My mother would reply, “No, it's a girl.” She recalls the look on the faces of my aunts – total concern.

Last Friday, Melissa and I visited Viacom to engage in Viacommunity Day. While the initiative involved thousands of employees from all different networks, we were lucky enough to have eight great representatives hailing from BET, Comedy Central, MTV and Viacom Corporate. 

Mother’s Day is a day when the whole world stops to commemorate and thank women in their lives who have raised their daughters and made them the people they are. On this Mother’s Day, I want to do the same for a woman who has helped me as well as many others find themselves before the world told them who they should become.

We’re still feeling the southern hospitality after hosting Unite for Girls in Atlanta last week. Hundreds of teens walked away moved by stories from their peers around the world and ready to take action.

In the time it takes me to run two miles, bake a batch of cookies, or watch a quarter of basketball, a girl has been robbed of her childhood and is married, more likely to an older man.

I know a girl named Kidan from Ethiopia. Like so many girls around the world, she has dreams and aspirations. She wants to be a doctor one day. But Kidan is at a crossroads; there is a key obstacle standing in her way. Do you know what that is?

Thanks to all the girls who attended the Century of the Girl Expo in Philadelphia, hosted by the Girl Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania. More than 800 people visited Girl Up’s booth at the event this past weekend!