She's The First is a non-profit organization based in New York, and was founded by Tammy Tibbetts in 2009. As of January 2015, there are 117 She’s The First chapters in high schools and colleges across the United States that sponsor 450 girls in 10 countries. These countries include Ethiopia, Uganda, Peru, Guatemala, India, Kenya, Nepal, South Sudan, Tanzania, and The Gambia. In the world, there a
re 130 million children who do not attend school, and 70% of these children are girls. Access to education for girls has improved tremendously in the last 20 years, but many girls are denied the human right to education because of economic, safety-related, institutional, and cultural obstacles. When girls become educated, it allows them to pursue careers and opportunities outside of the home, gives them the ability to support themselves, and empowers them to enter politics and change oppressive institutions. In addition, researchers have found that countries where girls are educated have a higher GDP, lower poverty levels, and lower levels of gender inequality. The University of Alabama chapter of She's The First is a brand new student organization this year, and we would love for you to be involved! We use many creative methods to raise money and spread awareness about the need to educate girls around the world. A few of these methods include bake sales and other various fundraisers (100% of the money raised goes to the girls), and social media activism. She’s The First, or any social justice group, can use social media activism to interact with millions of people and spread awareness about their cause. This is called social media for social change. Please contact Rachael Ledbetter at [email protected] if you have any questions or would like to join our organization!
