Wed, 30 Jun 2010 21:23:00
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| Article by:
Lindsay Adams
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 Courtesy of Girls For A Change. |
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By Lindsay Adams
Oh my God, Sephora! I love that store. We have to go in!”
After the teenage girl squeals in delight, she and her friends rush toward the towering cosmetic chain on Powell Street. Inside is a beauty paradise. Displays everywhere practically sparkle with powders and glosses and creams of every color.
Sephora – founded in France in 1969 – carries more than 250 brands of items that include makeup, skin care, fragrance, bath, hair products, hair tools and beauty accessories, including Sephora’s own private label.
While Sephora is a world renowned distributor of any and all products that pamper outer beauty, few realize the company’s philanthropic efforts to improve inner beauty as well.
In the fall of 2008, Sephora launched The Sephora Project – a movement to educate and empower young women. Partnering with Girls For A Change, The Sephora Project embarked on a national tour. Throughout September and October of that year, more than 2,300 girls were trained at 25 different schools through the Change Your World Trainings. Girls in middle school and high school, all from varying backgrounds and race were encouraged to make positive changes within themselves and their communities.
“(Sephora will allow) Girls For A Change to reach thousands who would otherwise not have the opportunity to learn how to create positive change in their communities and in their own lives,” Whitney Smith, CEO of Girls For A Change said on the company’s website.
In the workshops, the girls were taught about the importance of community and their responsibility to maintain and improve that community. Individuals were encouraged to share their personal thoughts and dreams, reminding everyone that her voice mattered.
Stephanie Ramirez, a 21-year-old runaway who found Girls For A Change eight years ago, said, “Girls For A Change watched me make mistakes and guided me by teaching me how to use my voice.” Ramirez is now studying computer science in college and sharing her story to help more girls like her.
Each participant received a Girl Action Kit detailing how she can create a change in her school, neighborhood or city. Following the trainings, hundreds of the participants joined the Girl Action Network, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping girls ages 13 and up from underserved communities become the best they can be. Eighty percent of all team participants indicated an increase in personal empowerment, self-esteem and self-value gained through participation in Girls For A Change.
Today, the Girl Action Network continues to make a difference in the lives of young women throughout the United States. For more information or to become a volunteer, contact GAN Volunteer Coordinator Goldie K. Bonney at volunteers@girlsactionnetwork.org. |
