Sponsor Stories

Men are Part of She's the First, Too!

Lew is the latest sponsor for the Haiti Outreach Program!

[Editor's Note: Not all of our sponsors are young women in their 20s! She's the First is a co-ed movement that spans multiple generations, and we are proud to present Lew as the latest sponsor of a girl in Haiti, through our partner GiveHaitiHope.org/the Haiti Outreach Program.]

My name is Lew Blaustein, 51, President of New York City-based marketing consultancy, Lewis Brand Solutions, Inc. We develop results-based sales and marketing solutions for companies and non-profits in my three areas of personal passion: Green/Sustainability, Sports, and Arts.

Another personal passion is education, particularly the urgency and importance of providing girls with access to education in developing countries. The columns of Pulitzer-Prize winner Nicholas Kristof gave me an awareness and appreciation of this problem. When I was introduced to She’s The First, I knew I had found just the organization to match my interests with worthwhile projects the world over.

I was drawn to Haiti and the Haiti Outreach Program because of my interest in being of service in some small way to that earthquake-devastated country. After the initial outpouring of global interest, the world’s attention has moved on and yet massive problems remain, with access to education chief among them. Girls in Haiti have far less access than boys, so this seemed like a natural. I am happy to help.

It is my hope that more men become aware of the access-to-education gap facing girls in developing nations and decide to become active in eliminating that gap. To me, it’s clear: The overall lifestyle and economic climate are far better in countries in which girls have access to education. This is something that anyone, man or woman, should want to impact.

It is this angle (educating girls is the key to economic/political success and stability) that I think women should use to educate and energize men about this issue. One other possible angle is obvious when we consider the mounting evidence that in developed nations, the US in particular, boys are now underachieving, versus their female counterparts in the classroom: Women can encourage men to join them in support the education of girls in developing nations while women support boys’ education initiatives in developed countries. The two are obviously not mutually exclusive.

Posted in Haiti Outreach Program, Sponsor Stories | Tagged men | Leave a comment

The Link Between Miss America & She’s the First: More Powerful Than You Think!

Kaitlin Davis with the teen pageant contestant, Mackenzie, whom she inspired to host a She's the First fundraiser of her own -- resulting in a sponsorship at Maggie Doyne's school in Nepal!

When you think of pageants, I’d wager the first thing that comes to mind isn’t education. In fact, I have a nagging feeling that the word is more likely to drum up images of overly teased hair or a young lady from South Carolina who became famous for an answer she never meant to give. That saddens me, more than a little bit, because I’ve spent the last three years pursuing the Miss New Jersey crown and I can tell you that it’s so much more than that.

The “pageant girls” I know are bright and motivated—anxious and eager to make a difference in the world around them, and to pursue an education that will give them the keys to do so. I know titleholders who aspire to medical school, law school, business school, and careers in education, the non-profit sector, media, and more. In fact, that’s why I got involved… I needed scholarship money to pursue my education. I knew that attending college was imperative to my future, to achieving my goals. I stayed involved because I quickly realized how one rhinestone accessory gave me the power to make a difference in the community.

Joyce Auyuma, the student Kaitlin sponsors in Kenya at the Kibera School for Girls

Joyce Auyma, the student Kaitlin sponsors in Kenya at the Kibera School for Girls

I guess it’s no surprise then why I fell in love with She’s the First. Much like the young women I’ve developed relationships with through the pageant community, She’s the First is a made up of savvy, intelligent young women who are passionate and strong-willed, constantly dreaming up new ideas of how to change the world. Furthermore, they take their work seriously. They know that their actions may motivate others to do the same, and that they are paving the way for generations of young women to come. Above all, they recognize the power of education to make a dream a reality.

You might have read about how I chose to sponsor the education of a girl in Haiti as my gift to this year’s Miss New Jersey contestants. The girls were incredibly receptive and anxious to know more about what She’s the First is and does—many of them have even volunteered to help with a fundraiser I’m planning for later this summer. Since then, a teen contestant has begun her own efforts to sponsor a girl, several parents and friends have expressed their interest and support in attending upcoming events, I’ve been able to sponsor a second young lady at the Kibera School for Girls, and we’re ordering “tiara” cookies from our new partner, Baking for Good, as a “send-off” gift for a young lady leaving for her first national pageant. I’m so thrilled! More importantly, I am so proud that She’s the First is demonstrating the power of young women everywhere to come together to impact significant change.

Miss New Jersey group shot -- Kaitlin is third from left in front row, in white T-shirt.

My involvement in both organizations has taught me one big lesson: the power of education is unparalleled. You are capable of accomplishing anything you dream of, if only you are given the keys to do so. The Miss America Organization gave me a key that I needed, and I believe that She’s the First is only just beginning to provide the tools that will change the lives of girls around the world.

Hairspray and textbooks—who ever would have guessed?

Posted in Gifts That Give Back, Sponsor Stories | Tagged miss america, pageants | 3 Comments

The Story of a Pink Uniform

Madeline Chevril, when I met her in 2008

I want to introduce you to Madeline Chevril. She sings. She dances. She squeaks when she gets excited and has a smile that will light up your day.

One thing she did not have when I met her was a school uniform. I met Madeline in January of 2008, on my second trip to Boucan Carre, Haiti. She was a preschool student at St. Michel’s Primary school, one of the schools supported by the Haiti Outreach Program. Our purpose on this trip was to update records on St. Michel’s students and photograph every single one of them for the sponsorship program.

As we were about to leave, little preschoolers dressed in pink caught my eye. If you ever have the chance to visit Boucan Carre, be warned. These kids are distracting and adorable and you will be yelled at to get back to work when all you want to do is play and jump and dance with them. One little girl in particular won my attention — Madeline. She blended in at first, but once I really looked at her I realized her dress was orange, not pink like the rest of the uniforms. When I asked her why, she said she didn’t have a uniform. Though this news broke my heart, it really didn’t seem to phase her. She was back to jumping and singing in seconds.

Me in Haiti with the girls

A few weeks after this trip the Haiti Outreach Program held it’s annual student sponsorship drive. When I saw her picture with her little orange dress, my heart broke all over again. I wanted to do whatever it would take to make sure this little girl would have a uniform next time she got her picture taken.

It turns out, all it took was a dinner with my family. Everyone saw what an impact my trips to Haiti had made on me, and they were all willing to chip in to make a difference for this little girl. Now I know She’s the First usually talks about rallying your friends behind sponsoring a girl, but sometimes rallying your family works just as well!

Here are my tips for how to start this discussion at the dinner table:

1. Check out the directory and see what school would suit your family best. St. Michel’s school in Boucan Carre made perfect sense for us because I have actually been there. Maybe you have a cousin that does mission work in West Timor and has made you feel connected with Roslin Orphanage. Perhaps you are a family with teenage siblings who might connect to a high school student through the Kenya Education Fund. You should also consider what type of sponsorship you are choosing. Would you prefer a blind donation, or one that allows you to actually interact with the student you are sponsoring?

2. Discuss the budget with your parents and decide how everyone will contribute. Does everyone in the family give up allowance for a few weeks to pay for the sponsorship? You can propose to skip the family-dinner-and-a-movie night to cook together at home and use what you would have spent on a night out. Another great option is to ask for your family to make donations in your honor to celebrate a birthday or other accomplishment, instead of getting traditional gifts.

Madeline's sponsorship certificate for 2010 -- in a pink uniform!

3. Don’t stop at just your immediate family! You can ask aunts and uncles, cousins, and even neighbors to get in on the fun. A larger group might be better equipped to fund a sponsorship at some of the (more expensive) boarding schools. You could even sponsor multiple students as a family! Ask your next-door neighbor to sponsor a student with you, and soon it could become a neighborhood event!

You don’t always have to be a party planner to make a difference in the life of a girl. Sometimes, it just takes a conversation at the dinner table. It’s a great way to get your family together for a good cause and remind everyone to be thankful for what we’ve got. What better way to put a smile on my face in the morning than to see the smile on Madeline’s face hanging on our family fridge?

Posted in Haiti Outreach Program, She's the First Intern Posts, Sponsor Stories | Tagged uniforms | 2 Comments

Guest Post from a New Mover & Shaker for She's the First!

Melanie Yvette Age 22 Temple University Graduate Creator of Fabulously Focused Magazine

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!

Posted in GIRLS WHO ROCK, Sponsor Stories | Tagged GIRLS WHO ROCK, philadelphia, temple university | Leave a comment

Two More Tanzania Sponsorships from Urban Girl Squad!

Great news — two more girls have just been sponsored at Village Schools International (VSI) in Tanzania via the She’s the First “Twice as Nice” campaign! As you may remember, the fundraising success of Notre Dame students led an anonymous donor to pledge that they would match all donations through She’s the First to VSI in the next sixth months!

The raffle at Urban Girl Squad's June 17th Summer Kickoff Party raised enough to send two girls to school through She's the First! (Amanda on far right)

Two more village girls can now go to school thanks to a brilliant idea by Urban Girl Squad founder Amanda Hofman. Urban Girl Squad is a social networking group for women in their 20s and 30s in NYC. Amanda plans several fun events a month, including June 17th’s Summer Kickoff Party at Polar Lounge at the Marcel of the Gramercy Hotel. At the cocktail party, each guest received a free raffle ticket, and for $2 each, they could purchase additional raffle tickets to increase their odds of winning cool prizes, ranging from yoga memberships to mixology lessons.

In total, $118 was raised. As you see in our directory, a VSI annual sponsorship of a girl is only $110. With the anonymous donor on board, the total doubled and covered the tuition of two girls — plus some money for extra books and supplies!

Amanda’s raffle is a wonderful example of how you can integrate support of She’s the First into an existing event. You can be creative a put a fundraising element into your party, even if you don’t classify the event itself as a “fundraiser.” Steve Vinton, the founder of VSI, expressed his gratitude below in an email — and we echo it!

Many thanks to you, Amanda, and to everyone who helped you pull it off. I love starting schools and I love teaching and I love giving kids who never dreamed that they would get to go to school that chance. You all have helped a really good thing to happen!

Posted in Sponsor Stories | Tagged fundraising, raffle, tanzania, urban girl squad | 1 Comment

She Donated Her Birthday to She's the First!

Tara donated her birthday to She's the First by using Facebook Causes.

Tara donated her birthday to She’s the First and its partner Goods for Good in Malawi through Facebook Causes! Read why in her special guest post:

When you think about it, everyone has the power to change the world for the better. And while it’s often easier to sit back and let others work tirelessly to make a difference, you’ll never get to feel the heart-warming satisfaction that “doing good” gives you if you don’t do something yourself.

So when I started reading about what She’s the First and their partners were doing, I felt that wonderful tingle of inspiration and decided that I just HAD to do something. As a busy mom of two young children, I don’t have as much time as I’d like to dedicate to philanthropic endeavors, but Facebook makes it super easy to raise money for causes you believe in. This year, I decided to use my birthday as a way of getting my friends to donate to my charity of choice: Goods for Good as part of the She’s the First campaign. I feel strongly about promoting the importance of education, particularly for the daughters of the world, and the message that with an education we can break barriers and become firsts–especially since I was the first woman in my family to go to college and then pursue a Masters degree (a good example for my own daughter). So far I’ve reached 25% of my goal, but I’ll continue to encourage people to look beyond their own families–and country–and realize that by supporting others we are helping the world move in a more positive direction. I hope that you do the same!

You can donate your birthday too! Email tammy@shesthefirst.org to find out which of our directory partners are on Facebook Causes, and you can fundraise for them as part of the She’s the First campaign.

Posted in Online Fundraising, Sponsor Stories | Tagged Facebook, facebook causes, goods for good, tara rummell berson | 1 Comment

Sponsorship in Honor of Miss New Jersey Class of 2010

Guivenie, a student in the Haiti Outreach Program, is now sponsored via She's the First by Kaitlin Davis, 23, from New Jersey!

Kaitlin Davis, a Peer Advisor on the She’s the First leadership team, is the latest sponsor of a girl in the Haiti Outreach Program. As Miss Gloucester County, she is about to compete in Miss New Jersey 2010, and traditionally contestants bring a gift to share with one another. Kaitlin chose to share the gift of education. On her own blog, she introduces her friends and followers to Guivenie.

Every year upon arrival at Miss New Jersey, many of the girls have little gifts or snacks or cards to exchange with one another. Over time, a young lady can develop quite a collection of crown-shaped paraphernalia! This fact, in conjunction with my slightly ridiculous obsession with unique gifts, got me to thinking. This year, I wanted to do something different… I wanted my gift to really show how much I appreciate the talent, intelligence, and spirit of service in these girls— and then it dawned on me, this would be the perfect opportunity to share with them the beauty of “She’s the First.” After all, what better audience could there be than a bunch of young women who believe in the power of education and are committed to improving the world around them? With that in mind, I sponsored the education of a young girl via Give Haiti Hope in honor of the Miss New Jersey Class of 2010. Her name is Guivenie Esanier, she’s 5 years old, and a student at St. Michel’s primary school. When she grows up, she’d like to be a nurse, so that she can help people.

If it were up to She’s the First, Kaitlin Davis would be crowned Miss New Jersey on June 19th for this brilliant idea! We also admire how she has inspired younger contestants, like MacKenzie Olson, to host their own creative fundraisers for sponsorship. So proud!

Posted in Sponsor Stories | Tagged haiti outreach program, miss new jersey | 1 Comment

Best Friends Bring She's the First to Boston

Sarah and Lauren -- best friends fundraising in Boston for GIRLS WHO ROCK NY!

Lauren Horn, a student at Northeastern University, heard about what Syracuse University, the University of Notre Dame, the University of Tennessee, and other college co-eds were doing to fundraise for girls’ education, so she decided to bring Boston on board! She and her best friend are co-hosting a She’s the First fundraiser in July…below, said BFF Sarah Matthews tells us how it’s done — and why it matters to her.

I’ve always yearned to make a difference — whether it’s helping someone who’s lost with directions, lending a helping hand to a friend, or offering a kind word to someone who needs some positivity in their life. It’s the mantra by which I live my life, and I try to surround myself with people who feel the same. My best friend Lauren introduced me to the awesome work of her friend Tammy Tibbetts and She’s the First. After hearing about everything that She’s the First does, I was floored. How could such a small organization make such a huge difference? It’s everyday people like you and me. Lauren then asked me to join her to support She’s the First by co-hosting a fundraiser.

Sarah Matthews, planning her She's the First fundraiser for Boston friends

Once we were both on board, our event planning skills took off. Lauren and I met at our favorite brunch spot in Boston and bounced ideas off each other. Pretty soon, we had a fully fleshed out fundraiser jotted down on our little notebooks in front of us. We decided to host the event at my apartment and settled on a “Informal-Formal Gala Night.” In the Facebook invitation, we encouraged our friends to dress in their best to dine on finger foods and wine. It would be a classy night, without the stuffiness of some fundraiser events. We decided to send all of our collected donations to the Haiti Outreach Program. Since only $100 dollars funds one year of primary education for one girl, we figured that this is our chance to help out more than one girl. Also, with the devastating earthquake in Haiti earlier this year, what better way to make a difference that will matter NOW!

We marketed the event via twitter, Facebook invites, and old school word-of-mouth. I’m proud to say that the response has been tremendous. Parents of friends are getting involved and doing their own fundraiser collections for our event. Invited guests are telling their friends to join them and donate to the cause. It’s been exciting to see our fellow college students so excited about making a difference. Lauren and I are planning on hosting the event in the month of July, which gives us plenty of time to collect as many donations as we can.

I was first introduced to She’s the First through my best friend, Lauren. Imagine the possibilities if everyone told one person about this amazing organization. And now – Lauren and I are spreading the word to all of our friends. Pay it forward. You CAN make a difference in a girl’s life.

Peace and love,

Sarah

Posted in She's the First*{Campus}, Sponsor Stories | Tagged boston, haiti outreach program, northeastern university | 3 Comments

Selling Her American Girl Dolls & Sponsoring a Nepali Girl

Mackenzie at her yard sale!

As we count down nine days to our GIRLS WHO ROCK benefit concert, the Twitter buzz builds, tickets are selling, the emails fire away…but as on-track as our plans may be, there’s always going to be a little stress. You know what melts all worries away? Reminders that She’s the First strikes a chord with young women and drives them to take their own action for girls around the world. The latest evidence comes from the blog of 13-year-old Mackenzie Olson, who we first wrote about when she collected change in her community to sponsor a girl in Maggie Doyne’s Kopila Valley Children’s Home.

Mackenzie was back in action to finish the $200 she needed for her sponsorship, by hosting an “All Things Girly” yard sale, selling old childhood toys. We congratulate Mackenzie on her success and hope you do too. She’s a shining star! In her blog, she writes:

“There are many things in life that will catch your eye, but only a few that will catch your heart. Pursue these.” Michael Nolan’s words are so true and She’s the First http://www.shesthefirst.org/ has truly captured my heart. She’s the First is a grassroots campaign that helps to enable girls in developing nations to have a better future with an education thru their online directory of schools with sponsorship programs.

We in America take for granted our public education, while in developing nations some girls never have the option to attend school. With an education these girls can overcome poverty, grow up to be leaders and better their world. With our help a young girl may in turn become the first in her family to graduate, the first female president of her country or even the first to discover a life saving drug. It’s possible that She’s the First but only with our help and every girl deserves the chance to be the first!

My personal mission is to help a young girl in Nepal who is living in the Kopila Valley Children’s Home. In 2007, Maggie Doyne of Mendham, New Jersey started construction on the Kopila home, in the town of Surkhet, that she built on a piece of land bought with $5,000 she had saved babysitting during high school. The vision of the home is to “sustain and improve the quality of life and the future for children of Nepal.”

How was I going to raise the money to see my mission through was my next question. With a little help from my mom, we came up with a project “Pocket Change for Change.” I figured we all have a little spare change jiggling in our pockets so why not put some collection boxes in local businesses. My good friends at Red Carpet Prom and Pageant allowed me to put one of my boxes at their register during Prom season. Wireless Electronics had one at their Berlin location and thanks to a special supporter, Janet Shaw, Kabuki Salon also had a box on display.

However, I had not raised enough money so I put my thinking cap on and decided to have a charity yard sale. “All Things Girly” was a huge success and I was excited to have my mentor, Kaitlin Davis drop by. Although I was sad to see all my American Girl dolls and clothes go I was happy to know that the money was going to a good cause.

I am proud to say that with the help from my “own village” and complete strangers I have raised enough money to start my sponsorship. I can’t wait to see who my new friend will be and start writing back and forth with her. My hope is to continue to sponsor her year after year helping this young girl become and educated young women.

By the way, I am the first in my family to speak German!

Posted in Sponsor Stories | Tagged mackenzie olson, maggie doyne, nepal, New Jersey, yard sale | 2 Comments

"Pocket Change for Change" — a NJ Teen's Fundraising Idea

Mackenzie Olson was crowned Miss New Jersey Junior National Teenager and is using her title to promote good causes -- she chose to support She's the First!

One of our She’s the First Peer Advisors, Kaitlin Davis, competes in New Jersey pageants, and like many young women, uses them as a powerful platform for articulating messages of change. When she mentors junior contestants, she tells them about She’s the First’s educational mission, and one girl, Mackenzie Olson, ran with it! No wonder she won the title of Miss New Jersey Junior National Teenager. Here’s how she’s raising money to sponsor a girl at the Kopila Valley Children’s Home in Nepal via She’s the First.

Mackenzie put Pocket Change for Change collections boxes at salons and at The Red Carpet Prom and Pageant boutique during prom season. She has raised $160 so far and on May 29th she is having a charity yard sale to raise even more money! She’ll be selling various childhood toys she doesn’t use anymore, like her American Girl doll collection.

Kenzie decided to fundraise for a She’s the First sponsorship because she said, “I feel that it is only right that everyone has a chance to get an education. I wanted to support She’s the First’s effort to make young girls like myself be the best they can be, so they have the chance to be the first!” Mackenzie has chosen to raise money for the Kopila Valley Children’s Home because the founder, Maggie Doyne, is a Jersey girl herself. She also hopes to become a pen pal to the young Nepali girl she sponsors.

Photo of a Nepali village girl, taken by Maggie Doyne, founder of the Kopila Valley Children's Home. You can sponsor a girl for $300 a year!

In Kenzie’s own words, here is what she wrote on her Pocket Change for Change fliers:

Enable girls in developing nations to have a better future through education!

We in America take for granted our public education, while in developing nations some girls never have the option to attend school. With an education these girls can overcome poverty, grow up to be leaders, and better their world. Your pocket change will help a young girl who may in turn become the first in her family to graduate, the first female president of her country, or even the first to discover a life-saving drug. It’s possible that “She’s the First,” but only with your help! Every girl deserves the chance to be the first.”

Posted in Kopila Valley Children's Home and School, Miscellaneous, Sponsor Stories | Tagged mackenzie olson, New Jersey, pocket change for change | 2 Comments

Two Girls Sponsored in Tanzania!

Village Schools International Classroom in Tanzania

Monica, Activities Coordinator for She’s the First, sponsored a girl in Liberia by collecting $2-$5 donations from all the girls in her dorm at Notre Dame. Her friend Julie saw how easy and impactful that was, and she got her own dorm involved, raising enough to sponsor two girls in Tanzania, at Village Schools International! We’ll publish a ‘sponsor spotlight’ with more details on how Julie did it soon…but we couldn’t wait to share a heartwarming thank you note from Steve Vinton, who is director of VSI schools in Tanzania. It’ll make you even more eager to rock the world!

I realize in the grand scheme of things there are those who would question if it really matters all that much if two girls in little villages in Africa get to go to school or not. I’ll admit that what the women of Lewis Hall have done won’t change the world, but in a very real sense it will change the world for those two girls. And after having lived in small villages in Africa myself for over two decades now, I can attest that it will also “change the world” for their families and also for their villages. Every girl today who studies makes it all that much easier for other girls in her village to study in the future. I say all of this as my way of saying thank you for what you all have done. When we first started VSI in 2005, we vowed that we would not go to all of the trouble to start these schools if it meant that only boys would get to go. For poor people it is not at all that they don’t want their daughters to go to school, it’s just that when you are very poor you have to make very tough choices and you have to go with the odds, and so if you only have enough money to send one child to school, you always choose to send the boy. Our goal has simply been to tip the economic scales by offering these scholarships to make it feasible for poor people to also let their daughters go to school. Thanks to people like you, our dream has been realized in a far greater way than we ever dreamed possible. Out of 3,643 students, over 1,900 of them are girls, and every single one of those girls is a great victory. I wish that I could personally somehow convey to all of those who gave money for this project the immensity of what has actually happened, but my job is to be here in Tanzania (I teach in the village of Igoda), so I will leave it up to you to please find a way to properly thank all of those who have participated in making this possible. We certainly do appreciate your efforts.

- Steve Vinton, Director of Village Schools International

Posted in Sponsor Stories, Village Schools International | 1 Comment

The First She's the First Benefit Sale! (You Can Host One Too!)

Sammy Davis Vintage hosts the first benefit sale for She's the First!

Want to support the She’s the First network of sponsorship programs, but you’re low on cash? A $200 or $300 sponsorship for a girl doesn’t have to come solely from your bank account. Get social and creative with your fundraising! Sammy Davis shows us how it’s done.

Sammy is hosting the very first benefit sale for She’s the First in NYC on April 18th! Her brand, Sammy Davis Vintage, works to help women achieve style with substance for feel-good, do-good fashion. As a result, she will donate $200 of her proceeds from her sale to sponsor a teen girl in Haiti! The student she’s supporting comes from the Haiti Outreach Program, a member of the She’s the First network. And guess what? Katie Riley, the University of Tennessee student leader for the organization, will be road tripping to NYC to personally attend and speak to shoppers about the cause!

Sammy’s Vintage Lovin’ Birthday Benefit Sale is open to all — click here for details. Read on for a brief interview with Sammy to learn the secrets of effectively hosting your own fundraiser to sponsor a girl!

Q: Why did you decide to sponsor a girl in Haiti through your sale?

Sammy Davis

I chose to sponsor a girl in Haiti in particular because of the country’s recent natural crisis. While there has been an outpouring of relief aid and donation to the country since the earthquake, I want to leave an impact that is not just a temporary band aid but one which will benefit both the sponsored girl and her community now and in the future. Sponsoring a girl’s education is the greatest gift: the gift of opportunity and economic, cultural advancement.

Q: Is this type of event easy to plan? If I was to get my sorority/friends together to host a big yard sale or used clothing sale to fundraise for sponsoring a girl, what should our first steps be?

Is planning a party easy? More importantly, is planning a party fun? Yes and YES!

To plan an event to raise money to sponsor a girl, you need three key things: 1) a product to sell or entertainment to offer, 2) Facebook or email account and 3) your open heart and enthusiasm!

It’s as easy as that. Take what you know how to do, something that you might even deem a “hobby,” and advertise those services and/or fun to your friends and family. As word spreads, the growth will take care of itself – it’s amazing how many “friends of friends” are attending my benefit sale, and I can’t wait to make the new connections!

Do your roommates drool over your homemade cupcakes? Sell them between classes on campus – word will spread of your tasty treats and of the good cause you are promoting! Next thing you know, you may even be featured in the student newspaper or on your friends’ blogs. Take positive, inspiring action and the press and promotion will come to you.

Are you a runner? Sign up for an endurance run and promise to train on behalf of raising money for sponsorship. Send out an email blast to your friends and family linking them to a site like First Giving, where they can donate money like a PayPal account.

Don’t want to run alone? Grab your gym partners to join in, make T-shirts promoting your cause, and then send pics of you crossing the finish line to She’s the First for post-run congratulations on the blog!

Sketch of pieces from the Sammy Davis Vintage collection, by Bridget McMullan.

The possibilities are endless – it’s just about applying what you know!

Q: I live in New York City. Can anyone come to your sale on April 18th?

Absolutely! The space is open to the public and easily marked. Just let the doorman know you are there for the “benefit sale,” and take the elevator to floor 2. The space is in suite 2B (you’ll probably be able to hear the sounds of merriment!) and we will welcome you and any of your friends with open arms. Arrive early for awesome door prizes!

Sign up for the Sammy Davis Vintage listerv to learn more about the girl I am sponsoring, to receive very special discount coupons for the event, and to get a preview of the vintage goodies and treats in store!

Posted in Sponsor Stories | Tagged benefit, haiti | 2 Comments

Prom Dress Sale Sends 30 Students to School in Haiti

Haiti Outreach Program volunteers: Katie Erpenbach, Jessica Henderson and Katie Riley

The Haiti Outreach Program, a member of the She’s the First network, discovered a creative way to support girls’ education in the developing world — recycle prom dresses! On Feb. 27th, Katie Riley and other college student volunteers at the University of Tennessee hosted Fierce & Fancy Formals, a fashion show and prom dress sale that raised $6,000 – enough to send 30 students to secondary school in Haiti!

The prom dress fundraiser for the Haiti Outreach Program was a huge success! Natalie Williams pictured.

The fundraiser featured a silent auction, a fashion show, and then a shopping event where girls could purchase once-expensive prom dresses at bargain prices, browsing an assortment of more than 400 donated dresses.

In an interview with the online magazine hercampus.com, Katie recently spoke about the huge impact that a creative, fun fundraiser can have, when you leverage the small contributions of the college and high school women around you. “For just $100 you can send a child to school for a year, and that’s really not a lot of money at all,” she said. “Take what you’re good at and find a way to apply it to Haiti (or whatever cause you care about). I will never be a doctor—I don’t even have the slightest interest in medicine—but I’m great at planning events, uniting volunteers and getting people excited about something so I have found a way to make it work. You can plan something that works in your community too. My sorority sisters love the idea of a dress sale. If you have a lot of friends who like to cook, host a bake sale! Just remember that no contribution is too small.”

We love the idea of sending a girl to school by doing something as simple as donating your birthday to the cause (instead of having people buy you a gift or drinks at the bar, ask them to donate $10) or hosting a benefit concert or sale. My friend Sammy Davis, a vintage fashion curator, is having a clothing sale on April 18th in NYC and donating $200 of the proceeds to sponsor a girl in the Haiti Outreach Program.

Continue the trend of fashionable fundraisers! How can you use your talents to sponsor a girl’s education, enabling her to break barriers and become a “first”?

Posted in Haiti Outreach Program, Sponsor Stories | Tagged prom dresses, University of Tennessee | Leave a comment

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[Editor's Note: Not all of our sponsors are young women in their 20s! She's the First is a co-ed movement that spans multiple generations, and we are proud to present Lew as the latest sponsor of a girl in Haiti, through our partner GiveHaitiHope.org/the Haiti Outreach Program.]

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