Because I am a Girl has made it our business to support girls around the world access their rights. We do this through supporting girl projects, including:

• Girl scholarships
• School construction
• Nutrition
• Work training opportunities
• Constructing health centres
• Business skills education
• Birth certificate registration

But, we can’t do it without your help! Here are three steps on how to get involved and become a Because I am a Girl fundraiser:

Set a goal – Decide how much you want to raise. Make sure to challenge yourself, but also be realistic.

Here are some examples of goals you can set for your fundraiser! Did you know:

• $75 gives a family access to clean drinking water.
• $120 can provide literacy training for two women.
• $300 can send a girl to school for a year.
• $450 can provide beekeeping training for 100 women, giving them a skill to support their families.
• $1,500 will give 2 women nutrition training, helping to ensure their babies stay healthy and grow strong.
• $1,500 can also provide 18 women with Financial Literacy Training, giving them the skills to ensure an income for their families.
• $14,000 can build a girls-only latrine at a school, encouraging girls to complete their education.

Create a fundraising page – At BecauseIamaGirl.ca you can create an account and set up a fundraising page. Just like a Facebook account or other social network, you can personalize your page and let friends and family know about your fundraising goal. Your fundraising page will also allow you to collect donations online and track your progress.

Make a plan – Now it’s time to decide the who/what/when/where of your fundraising campaign. Are you going to hold a special event, like a Pink LemonAid stand or an ethical birthday? Or how about a car wash, movie night, talent show or sports tournament? Check out more fundraising ideas here!

Next, put your plan into action!

Want to meet other girls who have taken on the cause of girls in a big way? Check out these AMAZING Because I am a Girl supporters. This year, I also became a fundraiser! I dedicated my first triathlon to Because I am a Girl!

Here are top tips for spreading the word.

Become an expert

Research before you speak. Make sure you’ve done your homework so you can respond to comments and questions from the audience like a pro!  And, if you’re not sure of the answer don’t be afraid to say so – you will be more respected for your honesty.

Stay focused

Before I present, I think about three points that I want the audience to remember when I’m finished talking. Everything in my presentation is focused around those three points. It may seem like you won’t have enough to talk about, but if those three points are powerful, don’t worry, you’ll have plenty to say!

Practice, practice, practice

Even if I know my topic like the back of my hand, I always go over my presentation several times before I take the stage.  Practice is my trick to sound confident even when I’ve got spotlight jitters.  Your audience will be more engaged and better at listening to your opinions if you’re confident.

Team up

Go for strength in numbers! Get together a group to present with you. Plan out what each person will focus on and work together to give each other feedback.

Get connected

If you’ve got something to say, say it online. Update your Facebook status, tweet, and email whatever it is you’ve got to say on behalf of girls…you’ll be surprised how many people want to hear what you’ve got to say!

Because I am a Girl Speaker's Bureau busy spreading the word.

Girl Speaker’s Bureau

Want to speak on behalf of Because I am a Girl? Check out how to apply to join our team of spokesgirls, the Because I am a Girl Speaker’s Bureau.

What do you think are the best ways to spread the word about girls’ rights?

Here’s the green-light (and some top tips) to start planning the Grand Opening of your own Pink LemonAid Stand. Together with friends and/or family, YOU can raise funds for Because I am a Girl developing world girl projects.

Anna did it!

Anna and her mom made a big batch of Because I am a Girl Pink LemonAid last year. They opened a Pink LemonAid stand at Anna’s primary school in Toronto, charging five cents per glass. In only one morning, they reached more than 100 people with information about the Because I am a Girl movement! Check out more photos from the event here.

Top Tips!

Here are some tips to making your Because I am a Girl Pink LemonAid stand a huge success!

• Decide what day, time and place you want to hold your event
• Promote your event with Pink LemonAid flyers in the downloadable kit
• Gather all your supplies: cups, lemonade, a folding table and decorations
• Set-up your stand with the kit items and get ready to serve
• Count your proceeds and submit them to Because I am a Girl

Celebrate Spring 2011 and support girls! Be a Pink LemonAid Stand hostess! Check out the step-by-step how-to or download the complimentary Pink LemonAid kit!

Get inspired! Have a look at pictures from our Celebrity Pink LemonAid Stand!

Last week we asked you to

On twitter, this hashtag is getting good mileage - #antivalentinesday from Tweets who want to express their anti-Valentine’s Day point of view.  Celebs like Ke$ha and Jennifer Garner (who says her best Valentines day was hanging out with her girlfriends) are also joining in the discussion.

It sounds to me like we’ve overdosed on the uber-consumerist and “couply” marketing of this “holiday.”

Here’s my suggestion! Instead of turning our backs on Valentine – Let’s OWN IT and use it to spread LOVE in a more meaningful way.

Spread the love

• Volunteer the day!  Or commit random acts of kindness.
• Walk around school with a bag of love hearts and ask EVERYONE to be your valentine.
• Wear your bright pink Because I am a Girl t-shirt.
• Write or make cards for your friends and family. Here are how-tos for some graffiti unvalentines day cards and some anatomically correct heart cards.
• Show your Valentine(s) you can change the world together – make a lasting difference with a Plan Gift of Hope for girls.
• Bake some valentines treats with the girls in your life: mom, sis or besties, and send them each home with an assorted box of treats. I love these deconstructed hearts and these amazing anatomically correct heart cupcakes.
• Have all your friends over to watch back to back horror movies…My Bloody Valentine, anyone?

Got any more great ideas about how to celebrate an Un-Valentines Day with the girls? Let us know in the comments!

Amanda is Plan’s resident expert on all things political, and she shared with me some some ideas about the best way to make change at a government level. In this case, we’re talking about how to make change for girls by raising awareness and changing policy in Canada.

Creating the Bandwagon for Girls

Amanda tells me “politicians don’t create the bandwagon, they jump on it.” Basically what she’s saying is that if you can show the government that enough people care about something, then they’ll decide to get involved. Here at Because I am a Girl, our goal is to get Canadian politicians involved in global girls issues. So, how do we show the government that we care A LOT about this issue?

One of the tools is our ePetition, where we’re asking the government of Canada to recognize September 22 every year as the National Day of the Girl, and help millions of girls break down barriers to survival and development that they face simply because they’re girls.  When you sign a petition, you’re showing that you support this issue, and that shows the government that their constituents support what the petition has to say.

Where We’re At

We have formally submitted the ePetition to the government, and its slowly making its way up the ranks in memo form. And if Canada says yes, the next step is taking it to the United Nations.  We’re not the only ones – Japan celebrates a Girls Day, and the campaign is starting to get momentum in Germany.

The Power of Petitions

This isn’t the first women’s rights petition, and it won’t be the last.

In the 1920s in Canada, women, by law, were considered “non persons,” which meant that they couldn’t access many basic rights (although, interestingly they were person enough to face “pains and penalties, but not “rights and privileges.”) A group of five women, known now as The Famous Five, petitioned the Canadian Supreme Court, and then the Government of Canada to get women to be legally considered “persons”. In 1929, they won their case.

Can you imagine not being considered a person under the constitution, just because you’re a girl?

How to get involved

Lend your voice to a global movement for change advocating for the rights of girls, and a better world for all of us. Help us get the Canadian government on board!  Sign the petition now!

Click on the Girl Gifts tab on the Because I am a Girl Facebook Page to check it out (or visit this link). You can actually buy a specific thing, like a baby blanket or an emergency hygiene kit, and Plan Canada will make sure that your gift reaches a girl that needs it somewhere on the other side of the world.

If you want to give a gift on behalf of someone else (like the other girls in your life: sisters, mom, teachers, coaches…), you can arrange to have a card sent to that person with a personalized message from you as well as information about the Girl Gift that you selected. (Keep in mind that orders must be placed by December 15th for delivery prior to December 25th.)

The idea behind these gifts is something known as “ethical giving,” an alternative to the holidays that can often become a crazy shop-a-thon. A lot of times we think of ethical giving to mean green giving, but in this case its more like social giving. The gifts that are available are designed to get at the roots of poverty, and ensure girls are able to access their human rights, like school, nutrition, and safety. This is especially important on a day like today when we recognize Human Rights Day and the anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

This year’s theme is Speak Up, Stop Discrimination. And this year, all year, we’ve been standing up against discrimination against girls, just based on the fact that they are girls (we’ll be doing it all next year too!). One way to do that is to think about girls this holiday, and give a gift to girls that help them to access their human rights.

I just tried it out: my mom is going to open her stocking this year to find three baby chicks (well, a card with their picture) that will provide a source of income for a family. It’ll balance all the guilty things that are in there as well…like the chocolate!

How much time have I got and what does that time look like?

One of the most important things about volunteering is being clear about how much you can reasonably give, both in terms of energy and time. It also helps the people you’re volunteering with to find you the perfect placement. Do you want to spend a full day volunteering once a month, for example, or are a couple of hours each week more your style? WIth online volunteering opportunities, your commitment could even look like 15 minutes every couple of days!

What kind of tasks would I like to do as a volunteer?

Contrary to popular belief, volunteers have some say in what they want to do for the organization or cause that they’re working for. I realized early on that there are some things that I hate doing (like public speaking) and other things that I love (like prepping for events). I learned the hard way that when I agreed to do something I didn’t want to do, my commitment dwindled. Volunteering is about giving your time and working for the greater good, but it doesn’t have to be about doing things that you hate.

What kind of volunteer dynamic am I looking for?

This question is pretty open and made up of tons more questions, like do I want to work with a group of volunteers or independently? Do I want to do one task with one organization or many different kinds of volunteering?

Do I want to work directly with the group being served (“grassroots”) or on a higher level (such as policy change, advocacy or fundraising). A good example of the difference is looking at a soup kitchen: you could be in the kitchen cooking and serving food, or you could be helping the soup kitchen raise money to pay for the food that they serve on a daily basis. Both are valuable ways to volunteer your time, but its useful to know which one you would like to do. Maybe it is a combination of both!

What do I want to get out of it?

People volunteer for a lot of different reasons, including giving back to their community, making friends, or resume or skills building. Knowing your reasons for volunteering will help make sure that what you end up doing is relevant. For example, if you want to volunteer to build your resume, you’ll want to volunteer in an area that is relevant to your future career; if you want to be an event planner, you should be volunteering to help plan events!

How can I make the most impact?

This question takes into account the who, what, when, where, and how of your volunteering.  I don’t really have guidelines to help you answer this one. It might be finding a volunteer position that uses your particular skills to their maximum potential. It might be working with an organization whose work you believe in strongly. It might be giving 199% every day you show up to volunteer. It might be representing your cause elsewhere in your daily life, like in conversations with friends or on your Facebook page. This part is up to you.

You may be saying, wait a minute, most of these questions sound like very selfish questions. Isn’t the last question the most important? Yes, the issue that you choose to support is central to your decision to volunteer, and you want to make the most difference you can. But, the other questions are very important, too. You’re more likely to stick to it and follow through on your commitments as a volunteer if you answer these questions thoughtfully and truthfully.

So, to all you volunteers and future volunteers out there, thanks for your commitment to your cause and happy World Volunteer Day!

(Photo Credit: bgottsab)

Maybe you’ve never written anything before, or are worried because you’re not an “expert” on the subject. But, here’s a secret: most people that write about a subject aren’t experts. They’re just really good researchers. So, if you feel passionate about a girls, think about picking up your pen and doing something about it!

Where to Write

The first step is to think about what kind of platforms you have for writing on. Facebook Notes, a personal blog, or your school newspaper are just a few examples of platforms where you can publish your writing. Where you decide to write will depend on how far you want your message to reach. Do you want to reach your friends and family (Facebook is great for this) or the broader community (a newspaper or blog)? Here’s a great checklist to help you write a strong newspaper article and another tip sheet to help with writing a powerful Facebook Note.

Back in the day, one of the ways to make change through writing was to write to the government about the issue. This is still a great option because you’re writing directly to the people that make the rules. Writing letters to the government starts with a little research to decide who is the best person to write to. Is it a local issue (city counsellors), a provincial issue (member of provincial parliament or legislative assembly), or a national issue (member of parliament or the Prime Minister)?

With international issues, it’s a little bit more complicated. Often, it’s best to write a letter to someone on a national level (member of parliament or the Prime Minister) because the federal government represents Canada on an international level as well. Most levels of government offer a bunch of different ways to get in touch. For example, check out how to contact the Prime Minister. And to help make sure your message gets heard, here’s an article on how to write a letter to a politician (just ignore the American flag!).

What to Write About

It might seem like the easy part, but what about writer’s block? If you’ve been following this blog, you probably know a lot about international girls’ issues. Is there a particular issue, like early marriage or education, for example, that you feel especially strongly about? Or is it girls’ rights in general? Get a clear idea of what you want to write about before you start.

Another aspect of this is to ask yourself what is it that you want to achieve with your writing. Do you want to increase the awareness of the reader, or get them to do something specific? Your message can be as general or as specific as you’d like it to be.

So what are you waiting for? Pick up your pen and change the world!

But, there’s one problem:

Why is that when us girls can pick to be WHATEVER WE WANT, we pick being a sexy pirate? Or a sexy nurse? Or a sexy super hero?

Why not just a regular pirate? Or a regular super hero?

My campaign this year is for creative, attention grabbing costumes that don’t depend on square inches of skin shown to be totally awesome! And here are some of my top picks:

1) Jamaican Bobsled Team: Last year for an Olympics themed party, 6 of us went as members of the Jamaican Bobsled Team (remember Cool Runnings?). Track down some yellow tights and sweatshirt from Value Village or Goodwill, slap a Jamaican flag on your chest, and make some fake dreadlocks. To make the dreadlocks we cut strips of fuzzy black fabric and used a glue gun to glue the strips on the inside of a yellow toque, hanging down. That’s it! And, of course, make sure to learn the Jamaican Bobsled Team cheer!

2) Mario and Luigi: My friend Arisa and I dressed up like Mario and Luigi in 2008. We could hear people yelling from down the street, “Hey, its Mario and Luigi!” and singing the theme song. Everyone wanted to talk to us and take pics! All you need for this one is a great fake mustache, a pair of overalls, and a green shirt (all available at Value Village). The hats in the right colour are a little harder to find, so my friend here painted her’s green with spray paint the day before! A trucker hat works as well. Just make sure to stay away from any Piranha Plants!

3) UPS Worker: In general, I love all costumes that are things that we see in our every day lives, like construction workers, etc. In 2006 I was a UPS worker and its one of my favourite costumes. Grab a pair of brown shorts and shirt. You can see the UPS logo that I hand stitched on my shirt (rough but it gets the message across!). The hat…well, for that I had to sweet talk the UPS delivery person that came to the office where I worked to see if he would lend it to me for the weekend! Bonus: you don’t have to carry a purse, because you can put all your stuff into a parcel!

4) JellyBelly: Jen (aka RocketGirl), a friend from university, ALWAYS has the best Halloween costumes. And this is the best of best. You need: balloons, a dry-cleaning bag, a JellyBelly logo printed of the internet. Dress head to toe in black (leggings and long sleeve top). Put on the dry-cleaning bag like a shirt (cut arm holes if needed). Blow up your balloons and put them in the dry cleaning bag. When its full, tuck it into your leggings. Stick the logo on the front, and get out your jazz hands!

5) Dia de los Muertos Sugar Skull: If the first four are too cutsy and not creepy enough for you, or you like a make-up challenge, check out my friend Margo’s amazing Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) inspired costume. She wore all black, and painted her face to look like a sugar skull which are used to honour the dead during Dia de los Muertos in Mexico. Check out this online how-to!

For more DIY costumes, check out this list on eHow. And, tune in to Teenagerie who makes an interesting point about culturally insensitive Halloween costumes as well!

So how would you make a difference for girls around the world? Send us your video or written submission, cuz Much and Plan are giving one winner the chance to actually put their plan into action. You’ll also get to come to MuchMusic and hang out with Plan ambassador Sarah Taylor. It only takes one girl to change the world. PLAN to change the world.

Check out the website to see videos from girls who’ve already submitted their ideas, and get thinking about yours!

Will your entry be a girl power manifesto, or a step by step action plan to make a difference in your community? Would you use the money to multiply the money you and your friends can raise to support girls issues, or to bring awareness?  Its up to you, but the most important thing is this:

Are You The One? Tell us how and you could win $5000 to put your idea into action, thanks to MuchMusic and Plan Canada!