Tuesday, October 30, 2007

The Power of 1600 Screaming Girls

"If you think you're too small to have an impact, try going to bed with a mosquito."
Anita Roddick, founder of The Body Shop

Still basking in the afterglow of Grace Hopper and She's Geeky, today I made this a three-week
estrogen spree by volunteering at the Girl Summit. There is nothing like the energy of 1600 preteen and teenage girls screaming and dancing to wake a body up in the morning! The girls gathered at the San Jose Convention Center to share, have fun, and learn about creating social change together.

This fabulous event was the kickoff to the Girls for a Change (GFC) school year program. GFC is another of my favorite nonprofit organizations, with a program that empowers girls to become social change agents who have a real impact in their schools and communities. After the Summit, many of the girls join Girl Action Teams through their schools or other organizations. Last year I co-coached one of these teams, and it was great to see some of the girls from our team at the Summit. Here's a short video clip on the Girl Summit from CBS channel 5 News.

Since my last day on the job I've done several short volunteer stints: Grace Hopper, the She's Geeky registration desk, today's Girl Summit and, last Friday night, the Haunted Lake at Palo Alto's Foothills Park. Thursday, I head over to the Anita Borg Institute to get started over there.

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