Celebrate International Day of the Girl October 11th with These 4 Community-Focused Ideas

Girls are amazing. We know it, you know it, and certainly the women in your life know it too. And while we raise the young women in our lives to believe they can do, be, and accomplish anything they put their minds to, it never hurts to have a day dedicated to reminding them of just that.

In 2011, the United Nations declared Oct. 11th the International Day of the Girl Child – a day dedicated to recognizing girl’s rights and the unique challenges females face around the world. For almost a decade, UN Women has highlighted the needs and inequalities of girls around the world and urged leading organizations to address some of these growing challenges.

But while it’s important to raise awareness of the inequities girls face in our world, it is equally vital that we encourage, support and uplift the girls in our community. Whether you work with a community group, a church, or the young women in your family, Get it Girl, a U.S.-based organization on a mission to empower women and girls worldwide, has some great advice to take to help celebrate and support all the girls in your life this International Day of the Girl.

Support Stress Release

Girls today are under more stress and pressure than ever before. Social media, peer pressure, academic rigors and more – it’s no wonder teenage girls have some of the highest rates of stress and anxiety! One vital way to celebrate International Day of the Girl is by supporting the girls in your life as they build their emotional wellness and coping skills. Give them the space to feel their negative feelings, and mentor them through the tough decisions and emotions they encounter every day.

Encourage Leadership

We’ve all heard the statistics around women in STEM-related fields and business, but the inequalities don’t stop there. If you speak with a girl about the career she hopes to have when she grows up, chances are pretty good she wants to enter a field dominated by men. That doesn’t mean you should discourage her from pursuing what she dreams of – on the contrary, offer her all the support you can to not only chase her dreams, but lead others at the same time!

There is a plethora of ways you can do this: purchasing and gifting her age-appropriate leadership books, attending workshops or classes taught by leaders in her dream profession, or connecting her with one-on-one mentorship sessions with community leaders. Making it personal and showing her how she can make an impact on her world is vital to encouraging her to chase her dreams, no matter how tough the path may be.

Develop Diversity

We live in an ever-changing world where, thanks to the internet, geographic and cultural boundaries are blurrier than ever. Raising girls to be strong, smart and independent women is never going to go out of style, but it is equally important that the girls in your life are aware of how diverse in thought, culture, race, and experiences the girls and women around them really are.

Seek out opportunities to expose the girls in your community to a broad swath of thought leaders, backgrounds, and mindsets. Ensure they are volunteering regularly to give back to those in their community less fortunate and connect them with resources that celebrate the diversity of the world in which they live. Young people know they don’t live in a vacuum or an echo chamber, and any attempt at mentorship must address that so that girls who look up to you will know how they can best interact with the world around them.

Show Gratitude

“You can’t do that! You’re a girl!”

How often did you hear that phrase as a young person? Chances are pretty good the girl in your life has likely been told the same thing. She gets enough of the “cant’s” and the “don’ts” everywhere else – make your presence in her life an encouraging and uplifting one by celebrating and thanking her for all that she does well. Remind her of her strengths and gifts and appreciate her openly for what she does to make the world around her a better place.

However, you celebrate International Day of the Girl, pioneering and encouraging community and individual efforts to support, care for, and encourage the girls in your life is a surefire way to make a lasting impact on the world. Girls need our support now more than ever – and Oct. 11th is as good a day as any to provide that care.

About Get It Girl LLC:

Get It Girl is on a mission to empower women and young girls who need a helping hand to achieve their life goals. Get It Girl provides resources, networking groups and programs that elevate education, employment, and mentoring opportunities. For more information, visit https://getitgirlsllc.com/