Guest Blogger: Melanie Yvette, 22, Temple University Graduate Creator of Fabulously Focused Magazine
Editor’s Note: Melanie Yvette heard of She’s the First through word of mouth, attended GIRLS WHO ROCK for an introduction to the cause, and she isn’t looking back! Here’s why she cares and what she’s doing about it in Philadelphia.
I was sitting in a brief meeting at the Hearst Magazines Café, when a friend of a friend of mine mentioned three words I would never forget: She’s. The. First.
Recently, there’s been an unsettling restlessness in my bones. I’ve been yearning for the perfect outlet to reach out to girls and young women all over the world. I never really knew how I could do this. Yes, I have donated to charities and hosted some events of my own. But nothing since then has given me the breathlessness of excitement as much as GIRLS WHO ROCK [She's the First's benefit concert] did two weeks ago.
During my brief meeting, I heard the name Tammy Tibbetts. I would later beg for her information and bug her for about a week, expressing my interest to help. GIRLS WHO ROCK would be my first opportunity. I made a quick call to a friend in Harlem for a couch to crash on, bought my ticket, and I was on my way to one of the most life lovely nights of summer.
Lets do the math: Santos Party House + Red Carpet + Martinis + Shontelle singing my favorite song, “Impossible.” And of course, we add in New York City. Sum it all up: a fierce night on the town with one fierce mission at hand: to send girls, in third world countries, to school. Yep. That’s it. School. All they want to do is learn.
While some of us are dreading the “back to school” ordeal, complaining about summer classes and whining about the after-grad economy flop, these girls only imagine what its like to have what so many of us take for granted: an education. They dream of what it is like to raise their hand before their classmates and argue their way from a “B-“ to an “A”.
The beauty of this is that it doesn’t even take much. Did you know that in Malawi, it only cost $80 to send a girl to school? And GIRLS WHO ROCK gave us this chance to raise money while giving us a great concert, yummy bite-sized cupcakes, and a room full of women who want to empower one another. Need I say more?
Two weeks ago, I was a random college graduate, sitting in my little tiny Philadelphia apartment, bugging Tammy via email about getting involved any kind of way. I went from that to attending GIRLS WHO ROCK, to becoming a guest blogger, and now planning my own event for She’s the First in the fall. I am pumped to keep pushing through to help this foundation. You should be too. This is our chance to give young girls the education we are granted by our country without struggle or choice.
So please, do your part and help She’s the First continue its mission to give an education to these young girls. Stay tuned for my updates about my fundraiser in Philadelphia!
