Teenagers Stepping Up to Help Girls Around the World

Many people think that teenagers these days are lazy, entitled, and uninspired. And to be fair, I’m sure that there are a lot of teenagers who are. However, for every one of these outliers, there are hundreds of young people getting involved with the issues and causes they are passionate about, whether on their own or through school clubs. Recently, I attended the Classy Awards Collaborative, where I spoke with two high school girls about how they are working to empower others and make the world a better place for women and girls in countries around the globe. Spencer Babcock and Lauren Fetten are both students at Dana Hall School in Wellesley, and are members of their school’s chapter of Girl Up, a UN sponsored campaign aimed at calling young advocates to action to raise funds, lobby legislatures, and provide necessities for girls living in places where simply being a girl isn’t always so easy.

When I sat down with Babcock and Fetten, I imagined that Girl Up was a small club at Dana Hall, with a few members. However, as Fetten explained, Girl Up is a national organization that has thousands of members. The Dana Hall chapter alone has “about 50 people. A lot of girls are really eager when they sign up.” 50 people? I honestly can’t think of a club at my high school that had over 50 members. And these members aren’t just names on a list, they’re active advocates. As Babcock said:

“We have a lot of active members, and whenever we do something outside of the club, we have the whole support of the school. Everyone tries to participate in fundraisers and fun events.”

In my high school days, the only things the whole school participated in were mandatory assemblies. It is truly impressive that so many students come out to support a club, especially a club that is dedicated to helping and advocating for girls around the world.

So what exactly is Girl Up doing to help others? The girls told me about several different initiatives and campaigns that they are involved with, including School Cycle, which is a fundraiser designed to raise money to provide bikes to girls in developing countries. With access to transportation, these girls can get from place to place, and most importantly, to school. The Dana Hall Girl Up chapter also participates in the Girl Up Global 5k. This year, all participants ran to collect money for school supplies to send to girls in India.

As if that wasn’t enough, these teenagers actively lobby members of Congress to pass certain laws. As Babcock explains, “Two years ago, it was the Girl Count Act, which was a bill that encouraged all countries to issue birth certificates to girls. In some countries, girls don’t matter as much as boys and as a result, fewer girls around the world are registered at birth as compared to boys.” This is an incredibly important issue that these high schoolers are working to solve. In an age of selfies and self-indulgence, it’s nice to know that the next generation is stepping up, and taking the world’s problems in its stride.

Written by Lily Dolin, university student, writer and Development Fellow at Be Girl