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.

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. 

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!

I hosted my Girl Scout Gold Award at my local Boys and Girls Club and promoting Girl Up was one of my main priorities! I taught three global awareness workshops for a group of 25 girls, educating them on major global issues.

This week Girl Up Director Gina Reiss-Wilchins is attending the Global Philanthropy Forum. This conference aims to build a community of donors and social investors who committed to international causes. Check out her question to Tony Blair, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, about child marriage!

The day finally arrived. After weeks of preparation gathering press release forms from twenty different people, it was a lot of work. I waited patiently in my AP Economics class for the bell to release the students to lunch. Once that time arrived I knew that she would be here.

Girl Up was proud to join the Spence School as it celebrated its annual Teach-In on April 4 in New York City. The theme for the day was “Girls and Women around the Globe: Living, Learning, Leading” – and the event was certainly filled with incredible women and girls!

My name is Sydney-Zeferina Pugliares, and I am a Girl Up BFF and have started one of the first Girl Up Pilot Clubs at Miss Porter’s School. We are pleased to announce that the Porter’s Girl Up Club recently held our first fundraiser last fall!

Girl Up was thrilled to join our Champion Ivanka Trump in New York at the launch of her new clothing line, Ivanka Trump Ready-to-Wear. Sitting on the edge of the runway for a sneak peek of this highly anticipated collection was a fashion lover’s dream come true! The warm spring colors and luxurious designs caught everyone's attention.

In this March blog series about phenomenal women, we have seen great examples of game-changers – women who have made positive changes in our world. We admire these women because they encourage us that girls do, in fact, run the world. And they run it well.

”Women in power” was the theme of the second day of the Women in the World Summit. Leymah Gbowee, founder and president of the Gbowee Peace Foundation Africa not only stressed the importance of being an activist but also the importance of educating women.

There aren’t a lot of famous funny women. Throughout history, comedy has been a field dominated by men. In 2010, the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor was awarded to Tina Fey, and rightly so. I admire Ms. Fey for a multitude of reasons, perhaps the most prominent being that in a world where looks are everything, she has garnered praise and success based on her intellect and comedic genius.

When I sat down to write this post about a woman role model, names of powerful women leaders came to mind. Then I thought, what about women in countries all over the world helping their communities?  I decided I would write about one of them.

What do High School Musical, a private wealth advisor, and “philanthro-teens” have in common?  The first ever Girl Up Leadership Summit!  Celebrities, female leaders, and more than 100 fabulous young women from across the country came together last weekend to learn about their peers in developing countries and gain the tools necessary to support them.

Congrats, Carrie!! You are the lucky winner of our Victoria Justice Birthday Contest. Your entry was so moving and represented Victoria’s work on behalf of Girl Up. We received a lot of amazing stories and it was tough to pick just one so thank you to everyone who participated!

I had the incredible opportunity to attend the third annual “Women in the World – Stories & Solutions” event at the David H. Koch Theater at the Lincoln Center in New York City.

The first day of the Women in the World Summit was absolutely amazing. The day opened up with a haunting song by Suma from Nepal, a girl sold into indentured servitude by her family. Her story has been shared by 10x10, an organization which made a feature film profiling 10 girls in 10 countries, all with the message that educating girls in developing nations will change the world.

Our first ever Leadership Summit was a huge success! The event brought 100 girls from across the country and connected them to women at the top of their game in finance, politics, and entertainment. All 15 of our Teen Advisors came to DC to show their peers on how to spread the Girl Up message and were treated to a tour of the nation’s capital.

Imagine that after a bloody and violent war that spanned more than 20 years, a powerful leader rose up to deliver the country from its impoverished and fragile state. This leader, a native of the country, pledged to make it better for all citizens. Now stop for a second.

I am a proud ‘90s kid. My youth was not consumed with computer games and my interactions with others did not occur over Facebook or Twitter. Although I’m 18 years old (still young in the scope of things) social media is even younger.

I had a fantastic time with the Girl Up and Nothing But Nets campaigns at the NBA All-Star Jam Session! The Orange County Convention Center in Orlando was crowded with excited NBA and WNBA fans.

Girl Up is on the road this week for the NBA All-Star Jam Session in Orlando, FL! For the first time ever, the Girl Up and Nothing But Nets campaigns will join forces to spread awareness about the United Nations Foundation and your ability to change the world.