31 Oct Behind the Mission: A Look at GirlsBuild and Associate Director of Youth Development
Having girl spaces where girls can feel comfortable to express their ideas, collaborate, and make change is more important than ever, especially in a climate where there is fewer representation of women in leadership roles. With only 5% of Fortune 500 companies being led by women and only 20% of women making up the members of Congress, LA Promise Fund’s GirlsBuild program is attempting to change all of that.
Each year, girls are inspired to create teams and are given funds to create, develop and complete a mission for their community. This year, girls broke records in applying, according to Melanie Ramirez, Associate Director of Youth Leadership at LA Promise Fund.
Melanie definitely knows about the importance of girl spaces, as she joined LAPF with a background in the Girl Scouts program and with a passion to create these places for women.
“I know that sometimes the world doesn’t support girls and sometimes the world doesn’t provide girls the space to build leadership, but here at GirlsBuild we do,” said Melanie.
Melanie is gearing up for the GirlsBuild Summit this year with the theme being: Female Empowerment. Mayor Karen Bass is the keynote speaker of this year’s summit. She will talk to girls and have a Q&A session with them. The summit will be held at the Academy Museum where 1000 GirlsBuild members will watch a screening of the movie Barbie, and with some surprise guests in the line up. This year, GirlsBuild is calling girls to take action and they will also host a Day of Service on November 18 where over 1000 care kits for the homeless will be assembled.
“Melanie is a great asset to this organization,” said Leslie Aaronson, Chief Program Officer of LA Promise Fund. “She is organizing meaningful events around student voice, budgeting and civic engagement while guiding the GirlsBuild team through their year long projects. Melanie’s background in community organizing and social work make them a great leader and role model for the students.”
Want to join us and the GirlsBuild teams in our mission this year? Consider participating in one of the following:
See our Instagram post about Boyle Heights Tavern on November 8 where 10% of proceeds will be donated to the organization.
Donate to the GirlsBuild care kit drive for the homeless by November 18.
Volunteer on November 18.
You can always make a donation to GirlsBuild here.
