The former First Lady is giving 10 grassroots organizations in her hometown the resources to help more than 2,200 girls thrive.
By Elizabeth Ayoola
Essence
https://www.essence.com/
Despite leaving the South Side of Chicago to make a global impact, Michelle Obama is committed to empowering the next generation of girls in her hometown. The former First Lady and founder of the Obama Foundation’s Girls Opportunity Alliance announced she’d be giving $500,000 to 10 organizations prioritizing empowering girls in her hometown. While we have made tremendous progress in women’s rights, there is still work to be done, especially at grassroots levels.
This new donation should positively impact the lives of 2,200 girls between the ages of 10 and 19 in areas such as mental health care, arts training, athletics, refugee support and more. This is an extension of the Obama Foundation’s Girls Opportunity Alliance work, which has already reached 190,000 across 265 grassroots projects to date.
“I’ve seen firsthand what happens when girls have the support, encouragement, and opportunities they deserve,” says Obama, founder of the Girls Opportunity Alliance. “That’s why I’m so excited that we’re supporting these extraordinary organizations in my hometown that do this work every day—meeting girls where they are, believing in their potential, and helping them reach for futures they might not even see for themselves today.”
The 10 organizations chosen align with the Alliance’s mission of helping young girls reach their full potential and facilitating lasting change in their communities.
The recipients include: A Long Walk Home, Box United, Cent(HER)ed Collective Girls Inc., the Coalition on Urban Girls, the First Ladies Health Initiative, GirlForward, HEART Women & Girls, Praize Productions Inc., Sista Afya Community Care, and Youth Guidance’s Working on Womanhood.
“Chicago has so many extraordinary organizations doing meaningful work to support our girls, and our goal is to help make that work even stronger and more impactful,” says Valerie Jarrett, CEO of The Obama Foundation. “That means providing resources, but it also means creating opportunities for leaders to learn from one another, build relationships, and find new ways to work together. That’s what this convening—and this Network—is all about.”
The Harvard Law School grad founded the Obama Foundation’s Girls Opportunity Alliance in October 2018 as a program part of the Obama Foundation. As a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, its goal is to empower, inspire, and connect people to enact change.
