UNITED NATIONS FOUNDATION’S GIRL UP UNITE FOR GIRLS TOUR COMES TO SEATTLE
Hundreds of teen girls show their spirit at Seattle Pep Rally to raise awareness and funds
Sections
The United Nations Foundation is taking its Unite for Girls Tour to Seattle to help introduce its newest campaign – Girl Up – which encourages American girls to channel their energy and compassion to raise awareness and funds for their counterparts in the developing world. The Girl Up campaign aims to raise awareness about the 600 million adolescent girls living in developing countries who lack access to basic needs such as education and health care, and encourages American girls to give back.
“We are hoping to harness the energy, creativity and passion of U.S. girls to make a difference in the lives of girls across the world,” said Jennifer Kim Field, Assistant Director of Global Partnerships, United Nations Foundation and Head of Girl Up. “Girls need to be given the chance and opportunity to succeed, and we are hoping that this program will help give girls that chance.”
Through Girl Up’s support, girls around the world will have the opportunity to become educated, healthy, safe, counted and positioned to be the next generation of leaders. Funds raised through Girl Up will support proven United Nations programs that help the hardest-to-reach girls in such countries as Malawi, Ethiopia, Guatemala and Liberia. Campaign supporters are encouraged to give a “High Five” to girls in developing countries by taking five minutes to learn about the issues facing girls or by donating $5 or more to provide girls with such basic needs as access to school supplies, clean water, life-saving health services, safety from violence and more.
The Unite for Girls Tour is holding a Pep Rally today at the Ranier Community Center in Seattle. Students from across Seattle will be attending the Pep Rally, through their schools and nonprofit organizations.
“I’m excited to be part of Girl Up because I don’t think it’s fair that some girls do not have the opportunity to attend school and receive the education they deserve,” said Jessica Markowitz, Girl Up BFF and founder of Richard’s Rwanda IMPUHWE, which supports educational opportunities for Rwandan girls and a "never again" genocide awareness campaign in the US. “I am only one girl, but I know I can make a difference. Imagine our impact in the world if girls across America came together and used our voices to stand up for the girls who are too often held back.”
Girls attending the Pep Rally will have the opportunity to travel through an interactive display with a passport in hand, to learn about girls just like them all around the world, and how they can help make the future brighter for their counterparts in developing countries. The Unite for Girls Tour will be visiting metropolitan areas across the nation to energize U.S. girls to take action in support of their counterparts overseas. An impressive group of Champions, Global Advocates and founding partners has joined the Girl Up movement to improve the lives of girls in developing countries, and will participate in the Tour throughout the year and next year.
For more information, visit www.GirlUp.org.
###
About Girl Up
Girl Up, a campaign of the United Nations Foundation, gives American girls the opportunity to channel their energy and compassion to raise awareness and funds for programs of the United Nations that help some of the world’s hardest-to-reach adolescent girls. Through Girl Up’s support, girls have the opportunity to become educated, healthy, safe, counted and positioned to be the next generation of leaders. Campaign supporters are encouraged to give a “High Five” to girls in developing countries by donating $5 or more to provide girls with such basic needs as access to school supplies, clean water, life-saving health services, safety from violence and more. Founding campaign partners include MTV Networks, National Coalition of Girls’ Schools, Women’s National Basketball Association, Ivanka Trump Fine Jewelry, Girls Inc., and Camp Fire USA. Go to GirlUp.org to learn more.
About the United Nations Foundation
The United Nations Foundation, a public charity was created in 1998 with entrepreneur and philanthropist Ted Turner’s historic $1 billion gift to support UN causes and activities. We build and implement public/private partnerships to address the world’s most pressing problems, and work to broaden support for the UN through advocacy and public outreach. Through our campaigns and partnerships, we connect people, ideas, and resources to help the UN solve global problems. The campaigns we conduct reduce child mortality, empower women and girls, create a new energy future, secure peace and human rights, and promote technology innovation to improve health outcomes. These solutions are helping the UN advance the eight global targets known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). For more information, visit www.unfoundation.org.
Media Contact:
Tina Musoke
202.496.6386
tmusoke@unfoundation.org
