Share Your “Empowering Girls” Initiatives with the World On Rotary Showcase

Posted by Carol Tichelman and Mary Shackleton
How is the Empowering Girls Initiative (#EmpoweringGirls2021) rolling out in your club and district?  The Zones 28 and 32 Empowering Girls Initiative team is excited to hear your stories, so please start sharing your projects with the world on Rotary Showcase.
 
President Shekhar Mehta is already sharing his story.  On a recent trip to seven African countries, he watched 200 girls make reusable sanitary napkins at a project he visited.  “Period Poverty” is an issue facing females worldwide, even here in the developed world.  Team Member PDG Bill Donnelly reports that his club (Rotary Club of Red Bank, New Jersey, USA | District 7505) provides essential supplies to local organizations with support from a District DDF Grant.  Feminine hygiene products are among the most popular items.
Interestingly, the projects that President Shekhar and PDG Bill spoke about were in progress before the Empowering Girls Initiative.  That is one of the key points we would like to stress with you.  You do not have to implement a new project or reinvent the Rotary wheel.  If you have an ongoing water project, why not adjust the scope of work to help improve the lives of girls in the community?  Measuring your project's impact might be a great way to start!  Determine whether the number of girls remaining in school has increased or assaults upon those previously traveling to distant water sources have decreased.  (Collecting potable water for their family is a leading reason why girls leave school or face attacks in more remote areas.)
 
Metrics ARE important.  Those numbers help us achieve at least two of Rotary’s Strategic Priorities and Objectives – INCREASE OUR IMPACT and EXPAND OUR REACH.  The data we collect as part of this Initiative will help us improve our ability to achieve and measure the impact of what we are already doing.  We can then use that data to expand our reach by building awareness of our impact and brand.  As President Shekhar has quipped, the Rotary family are great storytellers, but we tend to keep those stories in the family.  That is why entering projects into Rotary Showcase is so vital.  Please remember to use the hashtag - #EmpoweringGirls2021.
 
Finally, please welcome the newest member of our team, Leanne Whelan (leannescoville@gmail.com , 709-699-7981).  Leanne will be working with Districts 7010, 7040, 7790, 7810, and 7820 in Eastern Canada.  Et elle parle français!
 
We look forward to highlighting some of your stories in upcoming Beyond Borders articles!