HUNT VALLEY, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--COVERGIRL is celebrating the second year of its #GirlsCan program, a movement with a mission to empower young women to overcome barriers, break boundaries and be the next generation to rock the world. At a time when girls are preparing to go back to school and they, along with their mothers and fathers, are thinking about the future, COVERGIRL aims to inspire more women and girls to strive to make strides in areas where women are currently underrepresented, from technology and engineering, to media and sports, to entrepreneurship and beyond. To kick off the second year of the movement, COVERGIRL – which committed $5MM over five years to the cause – is sharing first-year results and also launching a video content series produced by journalist and documentarian Soledad O'Brien.
The content series features powerful stories of four women who have faced challenges, forged ahead and defied the odds to achieve their dreams, setting an example for many other women to follow. The pioneering women featured in the series include:
- COVERGIRL Becky G, an inspiring young Latina rap star, who has broken through on the charts in a male-dominated industry
- Geena Rocero, a transgender woman who has not only graced the cover of top magazines and ads for fashion brands, but is also an entrepreneur with her own production company
- Tina Garnanez, a former female military veteran coping with PTSD, who fought for years in the military, where women make up just 15% of the population
- Rochelle Ballantyne, college student, and currently the closest female in the United States to achieving the chess title of “Master” —there are only 50 female masters out of 846 in the US!
The series is available to view on the COVERGIRL YouTube channel at covergirl.com/GirlsCan.
“Women today are out there breaking barriers and setting records in all sectors of their lives but are still facing challenges that many people wouldn’t expect in the new millennium,” said Soledad O’ Brien. “We are so excited to work with COVERGIRL and share our series on how these courageous women are changing society. Their struggles are all real and relatable while their stories are inspiring.”
COVERGIRL has always believed that women CAN change the world and wants to harness the power and possibility of girls everywhere for boundary-breaking change, whether at school, at work, or in entrepreneurial pursuits. In the first year of #GirlsCan, as part of the $5 million-over-five-years donation, COVERGIRL collaborated with two non-profit partners to help impact change including Girls Who Code, and Soledad O’Brien + Brad Raymond Starfish Foundation. Through this programming, COVERGIRL:
- Helped Girls Who Code get closer to achieving their goal of closing the gender gap in computer science; helping fund 500 new Clubs programs for the 2015-2016 academic year. By the end of 2015, Girls Who Code programs will have taught computer science to 10,000 girls in over 34 states.
- Challenged Girls Who Code Clubs participants to design a mobile app that would empower women and girls to express themselves and celebrate their unique beauty. After working on their apps for one month, a panel of judges reviewed the submissions based on creativity/originality and the ability to communicate the concept clearly. Six winners were chosen including: Nithya Krishnamurthy, Kelly Zhong, Sonya Ganeshram, Sarayu Malireddy, Gabby Nathan and Giselle Gulik.
- Granted thirty-six scholarships over the next 2 years to young women in their pursuit to higher education to create high impact change for women in the future through the Soledad O’Brien + Brad Raymond Starfish Foundation. Has helped over 1,000 girls take part in PowHERful summit events.
- Encouraged awareness of #GirlsCan and continued to impact change through a special retail promotion where purchase of a specially-marked mascara benefited two additional non-profit organizations, Step Up and Dress for Success
In all of COVERGIRL’s activations for #GirlsCan, the brand is committing to providing a megaphone to the voices of women and their stories of breaking boundaries. To stay updated on the latest #GirlsCan news, visit us at covergirl.com/GirlsCan or follow COVERGIRL on YouTube youtube.com/covergirl, Facebook facebook.com/covergirl, Twitter twitter.com/covergirl and Instagram instagram.com/covergirl.
About Girls Who Code
Girls Who Code is a national non-profit organization working to close the gender gap in technology. Through its Summer Immersion Program and Girls Who Code Clubs, the organization is leading the movement to inspire, educate, and equip young women with the computing skills to pursue 21st century opportunities. Additional information is available at www.girlswhocode.com.
About the Soledad O’Brien + Brad Raymond Starfish Foundation
Founded in 2011, the Soledad O’Brien + Brad Raymond Starfish Foundation (www.starfishscholars.org) exists to provide hardworking young women with the resources necessary to succeed. The Starfish Foundation was created to get young women out of the shadows and onto the road toward their dreams. Starfish’s comprehensive collection of programs and initiatives is a holistic approach designed to address the complex needs of the foundation’s family of scholars. In addition to providing financial support, they focus on life skills, career readiness, and network building through mentor relationships. The goal is to create transformational change in the individual lives of the girls. PowHERful - The Starfish foundation's annual PowHERful Summits are about giving girls the tools they need to go out in the world and make it their own.
About Step Up
Step Up believes all girls should have the opportunity to fulfill their potential. Through after-school and weekend mentorship programs, the nonprofit propels girls from under-resourced communities to fulfill their potential by empowering them to become confident, college-bound, career-focused and ready to join the next generation of professional women
About Dress for Success
Dress for Success is a global not-for-profit organization that promotes the economic independence of disadvantaged women by providing professional attire, a network of support and the career development tools to help women thrive in work and in life. Since starting operations in 1997, Dress for Success has expanded to 140 cities in 20 countries. To date, Dress for Success has helped more than 850,000 women work towards self-sufficiency.
About COVERGIRL
Easy, breezy, beautiful from the start, COVERGIRL now holds an iconic position in the world of beauty and pop culture: the brand that has been empowering women to rock their beautiful for more than 50 years. Throughout its history – and still today – COVERGIRL has been known as a cosmetics category leader and innovator, with first-to-market technologies, famous faces, and on-trend marketing campaigns. Whether how to get the look, or how to get behind-the-scenes access to the hottest celebrity event, COVERGIRL has got it covered. Visit www.covergirl.com or find @COVERGIRL in social media for more information.
