Feel Good Friday - Girls Write Nashville

We’re closing out our Women’s History Month posts on a musical note with Girls Write Nashville.

Founded in 2016, Girls Write Nashville (GWN) is a “nonprofit songwriting mentorship program based in Nashville, TN that cultivates empowered expression and positive community for teen girls.” It began as a one-time community arts project but was so popular that co-founders Jen Starsinic and Georgia English decided to continue their work as a nonprofit.

Because GWN is committed to accessibility and inclusivity, they offer their programs free of cost to participants. These programs focus on the lived experience of female-identifying and nonbinary students and are open to any student who wishes to participate.

The first GWN program is the MNPS Writers Guilds. This after-school program is offered to Metro Nashville Public School students from 6th to 8th grade. Led by a local female artist, students learn how to write and record an original song over the course of a 20 week semester. They share their work with their peers as well as have a showcase for the community. The girls get a demo of their completed song to keep when the program ends. You can meet some of the student songwriters in this short video and hear how being in the program has increased their confidence.

The second GWN program is the All City Mentorship Guild. Open to youth artists from 8th to 12th grade, students receive one on one mentorship from an adult artist as well as have monthly meetings with their peers. This program runs from January to May and culminates with participants producing and recording an original song in a recording studio with a professional band. These songs are added to the GWN annual compilation album. You can listen to the songs from previous years at this link.

When you’ve finished rocking out and are ready to support Girls Write Nashville there are many ways you can do so. If you live in the Nashville area you can become a volunteer. No matter where you are you can make a donation and amplify their work on social media. Follow GWN on Facebook and Instagram.

Feel Good Friday - Equality Now

Happy Friday! It’s still March, it’s still Women’s History Month so let’s talk about Equality Now.

Founded in 1992 and based in New York City, the mission of Equality Now is "to achieve legal and systemic change that addresses violence and discrimination against women and girls around the world.”  They do this with a global network of lawyers, activists, and supporters who hold governments responsible for their international obligation to prohibit all forms of violence and discrimination against women. 

Equality Now works in all regions of the world and uses a combination of legal expertise, advocacy, collaboration, and resourcing to get their work done. Watch this video to hear Global Executive Director, Mona Sinha explain their work or keep reading.

There are four areas that Equality Now focuses on. Achieving legal equality is the first step towards gender equality. The team at Equality Now works to end legislative gender discrimination and holds governments around the world accountable for their obligations under international law. Ending harmful practices such as child marriage and female genital mutilation means leading global campaigns against these practices while also collaborating with regional partners and pushing for states to enact and implement effective laws. 

Ending sexual violence and sexual exploitation is important because 1 in 3 women globally will experience sexual violence in their lifetimes. Equality Now works to enact good laws that are effectively implemented while also exploring partnerships that take an ecosystems approach to building support mechanisms for women and girls. They work to prevent online sexual exploitation and abuse as well as partnering with local activists to challenge sex trafficking and sex tourism.

In 2023, Equality Now shared their feminist, legal expertise in 76 trainings and workshops. They helped change 14 laws in 12 countries, which improved access to justice for 39.2 million women and girls worldwide. Read stories of this impact here.

If you’d like to help Equality Now realize their vision of “a world in which women and men have equal rights under the law, and full enjoyment of their human rights” there are many ways to do so. Make a donation, join the changemakers network, shop for merch, and amplify their message on social media.  Follow Equality Now on Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn and subscribe to their YouTube channel.

Feel Good Friday - World Pulse

March is Women’s History Month and we’re celebrating an organization that connects and supports women across the globe, World Pulse.

Founded in 2003 and headquartered in Portland, Oregon, the mission of World Pulse is “to create a world where all women thrive: one connection, one collaboration at a time.” They believe that “when women are heard and connected they transform the world for the better.” World Pulse is facilitating these connections through their social network.

Here’s how it works. World Pulse provides a digital space for 85,000 members across 233 countries and territories. Women and allies in this network connect, share their stories, access resources and collaborate to create change. The women on the platform take on different roles such as leaders, mentors, encouragers, and innovators. This new model of philanthropy connects funding directly to changemakers through technology, community, and storytelling. 

It starts with people joining the community and sharing their stories. Themes for the stories span a variety of gender justice topics including, but not limited to, economic power, health, education, human rights, technology, arts and culture. Some of the people and organizations receive financial support for their initiatives. Examples of recent grantees include a woman in Zimbabwe helping people navigate cyberbullying, a disability rights advocate in Kenya and peace activist in Cameroon.

In addition, people who are members of the community can connect to share ideas and resources and partner to develop their businesses, build movements, run for office and improve the lives of millions. In a 2023 survey, World Pulse found that 70% of members said their actions as a result of World Pulse made an impact, 25% trained or educated others, 22% changed behaviors in their community and 9% influenced a law or policy. You can read more about global collaborations on the impact page.

If you’d like to help World Pulse expand connections, amplify voices and build agency for women worldwide there are several ways to do so. Read the latest stories and connect with changemakers, make a donation, and amplify their work on social media. Follow World Pulse on Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn and subscribe to their YouTube channel.