March 8^th is International Women’s Day; in fact the entire month of March is Women’s History Month. What is your community doing to honor it? How about your local schools? Will your son or daughter come home with papers and projects related to Women’s History like they did Presidents Day, St. Patrick’s Day or even Valentine’s Day? Probably not.

That’s because for as far as “gender equality” has come in the year’s since the Women’s Suffrage movement, it still has not come nearly far enough. Most girls grow up knowing very little about the Women’s Suffrage movement, and what a long hard battle those women fought to simply say that we could step into a voting booth.

The women’s suffrage movement, which accomplished so much, was not a battle fought behind a desk by people in power. It was a movement that began with everyday women. Moms, wives, friends, sisters, poor women, rich women, black women, white women, it was women from all walks of life banding together to create a movement.

But many girls will go most of their childhood NOT hearing about this movement, or any of the other inspiring stories that should be shared in honor of Women’s History Month.  So what can YOU do about it?

Here’s a list of things you can do to celebrate Women’s History Month where you live.

1. Talk to the School – Talk to your child’s teacher about Women’s History Month. Ask if there are any lessons plans in place for Women’s History Month. If not, offer to do something. You can visit websites like this for lots of ideas.
2. Read A Book – You don’t have to plan an entire activity. Find some books from the SheHeroes Book Club for ideas and offer to read. (March 2^nd just happens to be Read Across America Day as well). Maybe you can offer to celebrate at your child's school by reading a book to the class or read at any reading assemblies being planned. Choose a book from the above list, or any book about an amazing SheHero in history.
3. Go on an Adventure – Do a little research and see if there are any activities near or around where you live celebrating Women’s History Month. Or see if any local museums have any exhibits or areas that have to do with women artists.
4. Local History – Look up and research local history. Find out local history, the first woman mayor, when women first began voting in your area, local architecture and other things that may keep up with the theme of Women's History Month.
5. Read Books & Watch Movies – Simple yes, but visit the library and Netflix and stock up on a batch of age appropriate books and movies about women from history.
6. Use The Internet – The Internet is a treasure trove of information about women in history, take advantage.
7. Celebrate Your Own History – Use Women’s History month is a great excuse to take your kids to visit Grandma and listen to stories about the amazing SheHeroes in your very own family!

So how are YOU planning on celebrating Women’s History Month?

It's not long before Mother's Day, and the frantic search begins to find the perfect gift for the woman who gave you everything! How do you plan to honor your mother this Mother's Day?

Mom blessed you with life and her boundless unconditional love. She protected you and nurtured you to grow into the amazing SheHero you are today.

How can you match that? A bottle of expensive perfume? A fancy box of chocolates? Yet another bouquet of roses? She's probably seen them all.

BUT When you give your mom the gift of SheHeroes -- she will have a lasting memory and distinction that can be shared with the whole family.

Please know that we are grateful for any and all donations, including shares of stock, but this year we're offering something new.

A $5,000 donation underwrites the production of one SheHero video, with your mom recognized as a sponsor in the credits.

A $2,500 donation goes toward the underwriting of a video, with your mom recognized as a co-sponsor in the credits,

A $500 donation will receive recognition in our website's blog (and donor page) which will be distributed through our social media network -- and you can share this with friends and family.

A $100 donation will be shared on the donor page of our website.

And it's so easy, just click the button below!

International women's day by Demonh86 on DeviantArt

What does International Women’s Day mean to you? More importantly what do you want it to mean to your daughter? For me personally, it’s the million faces of woman who have come before me and paved a million different paths for women across the world. It’s the women who have paved the way in politics, sports, business, and science. It’s the women who have dedicated their lives to making the world a better place. Women who’ve dedicated their lives so their daughters will have more than they did. Women who have given up everything so that other woman could have an education, a healthier longer life or the right to vote.

And when I think about what I want it to mean to my own daughter, I want it to mean being thankful for all that the women who have come before her have done. But even more importantly I want her to be aware and willing to work hard for towards all that still remains to be done in order to achieve gender equality in all areas of the world.

Here are a few ways you can involve, educate and inspire the girls in your life and in your community, because making a difference in the global community means starting right in your local community.

• Volunteer at your child’s school. Maybe offer to teach and after school class on women’s history.

• Arrange trips for the young SheHeroes in your life to meet and talk to women working in the areas of science, technology, engineering or math.

• Support local women’s sports by taking the girls in your life to different sporting events where they can see women in action, playing sports just as hard as the men.

• Lead a Girl Scout troop.

• Volunteer at your local museum and help put together an exhibit displaying the history of local women.

• And last but not least visit SheHeroes! The main purpose of our videos is to help inspire and educate girls so that they know the possibilities open to them are limitless. And they can truly be anything they want to be.

Happy International Women’s Day!

We’d love to hear from you! Tell us in the comments what International Women’s Day mean to you and what do you want it to mean to your daughter?

Recently SheHeroes was honored to be featured on the award-winning Edcuration podcast hosted by Kristi Hemingway. Edcuration is a curriculum marketplace leader, and their podcasts showcase the best curriculum products available to educators.

Edcuration invited recent participants of the free SheHeroes STEM Career Path Curriculum to discuss their experiences using the curriculum in the classroom. The podcast features:

• Jasonn Denard, middle school principal of College Achieve Paterson, a network of charter schools in Paterson, New Jersey.
• Melissa Mendizabal, middle school science teacher at College Achieve Paterson
  Davianny Delgado Corsino, a 7th grade student at College Achieve Paterson

We encourage you to watch this fascinating discussion, which presents three different perspectives on the SheHeroes curriculum--principal, teacher, and student. The topics explored are:

• What is the STEM Career Path Curriculum?
• Why would a teacher or school use these materials?
• The many different ways to teach or use the curriculum, either as stand-alone units or in combination with other teaching materials and subjects
• What students like best about the curriculum
• What are the benefits of having these enrichment resources?

SheHeroes’ mission is to inspire girls to dream big for their futures through a website featuring video profiles of successful women in diverse careers: www.sheheroes.org. We created our first curriculum to help guide girls into discovering how their current interests can take them into fulfilling and exciting STEM career paths. These materials can be used independently by students or taught by teachers in the classroom.

By engaging in these lessons, students –-girls and boys--will take a deep dive not only to learn about a wide range of possible STEM careers, but to also discover themselves in the process. There are 4 individual units—The Creators, The Explorers, The Observers and The Analysts. Each unit stands alone and taps into different natural personal traits or qualities a student may identify with to engage them into a deeper exploration of the exciting careers they might enjoy.

Educators and students can download individual units or the entire curriculum. Through this educational experience, all students can see the possibilities to apply their strengths and interests to any STEM career. Students will discover a diverse group of female STEM Pioneers that have been breaking glass ceilings and inspire students to push through their own barriers and achieve their dreams.

A SheHero is a person who overcomes obstacles and excels in her field, setting an example for young women of all that is possible in work and life. The free SheHeroes curriculum - developed for grades 4-10 as a supplemental resource for Social Studies, Science, gifted and talented, enrichment, afterschool care, clubs, etc. - aims to promote successful female professionals across industries, particularly in STEM and other industries where women are underrepresented. Using a video library of professional profiles, women share stories of how they tackled challenges and impart words of wisdom to inspire the next generation of career women. Easily accessible, educators and students can download individual units or the entire curriculum.

Why do today’s students need SheHeroes? In the US alone, statistics show:

• Women earn 23% less income than men with equivalent skills and experience

• Women make up 48% of the workforce, but they hold only 24% of the jobs in STEM 

• Only 16% of US CEOs are women

• Only 15% of boards’ seats are held by women 

3 Pilot Participants Will Receive a $100 Stipend

Help rewrite the future of work with SheHeroes’ equity-centered curriculum and spread the word to like-minded educators! SheHeroes is looking for up to 10 participants to pilot the curriculum. Three pilot participants will then be chosen to share their experience with SheHeroes on the EdCuration podcast in 2023. Podcast participants will receive a $100 gift card as a thank you. If you are interested in piloting and participating in the podcast, simply email Lori Nelson at SheHeroes to get the conversation started.

SheHeroes plants seeds in youth about professions they might never have heard of, encouraging young women to picture themselves in these fields and to pursue any career of their choice.

We'd like to hear from you. What other careers would you like "Meet Your SheHero" to explore next?

​Click Here to take our quick survey! Once completed, we'll enter you in our contest to win a prize of a $25 gift certificate.

The winner will be announced May 15th!

Educators and students can download individual units or the entire curriculum. We hope that, through this educational experience, all students can see the possibilities to apply their strengths and interests to any STEM career. Students will discover a diverse group of female STEM Pioneers that have been breaking glass ceilings, and they will be inspired to push through their own barriers and achieve their dreams.

We hope you enjoy these new materials and ask that you please share this email with any teachers, parents, or students you know who might be interested!  Thank you for your support!

This Mother's Day show your Mom she's your Number One SheHero by making a donation to SheHeroes in her name.

Feature her name in our website or in our newsletter as part of our special tribute to mothers this Mother's Day.

It's easy! Just click below to go to our Donate page. Enter your Mom's name in the note section of the Paypal form.

Levels:
$100 - listing on Mother’s day tribute newsletter
$1000 -  website tribute
$5000 - production of a SheHeroes video in her field of choice

DONATE TODAY!

We here at SheHeroes are no different and always look to a New Year as an opportunity to refresh our mission and think of new ways to inspire ourselves and the SheHeroes around us both young and old. One way is by coming up with a list of ways you can pledge to inspire SheHeroes and Heroes young and old.

1. Set An Example – Conquer and go after your own dreams. Nothing impacts a child more than the example set by their parents (or primary caregivers). Follow your dreams, respect and take care of yourself and be proud of who you are. If you succeed in this your children will have no choice but to follow in your footsteps.
2. Explore the world Around You – Sit down with your family and make a list of local places (or farther if that’s doable) that you would like to visit over the next year (when safe to do so). Write them down and place it in a prominent place in the house. These don’t have to be outrageous places either. Get online and do some research about the historic areas, zoos and aquariums, or new hiking/bike trails around where you liv that are safe to visit. Teach your kids adventure by simply exploring the world around you.
3. Try Something New Every Month – Another inspiring list to make with the family, you can include everything from new kinds of foods, new sports, hobbies, learn to play chess, or any activity that you haven’t tried before. And once again post everyone’s list in a prominent place and work together to accomplish these new goals each month.
4. Volunteer – Nothing inspires your children liking volunteering on a regular basis. This can be done through your school, church, Girl Scout troop, or by simply checking your city website for volunteer opportunities.
5. Speak Out – Use resources like PBS’s “Don’t Buy It: Get Smart” program to help teach your kids how to be media literate.
6. Inspire With Role Models – Expose your children to SheHeroes who are making things happen today. Follow our blog, like us on Facebook and use the excellent resources we have available to expose your SheHeroes to the amazing women all around us.

What things do YOU plan on doing in the New Year in your house to better the world for your SheHeroes?

Dr. Sophia Yen, co-founder and board chairperson, said, "SheHeroes thanks Truist for investing in creating a curriculum to show young people that women can be whatever profession they want to be as long as they work hard toward that goal. Thank you for helping make this happen."

SheHeroes' mission is to show middle school girls successful, interesting female role models in a wide variety of careers so that they can better imagine what their future careers might be. The SheHeroes website hosts dozens of video profiles of diverse, successful women, discussion guides, podcasts, blog posts, and articles relevant to girls and their futures.

"Many of the jobs of the future will be in STEM," said SheHeroes Executive Director Lori Nelson. "The new curriculum will help us show girls how interesting, fulfilling, and meaningful these careers can be. We are grateful for the Truist Foundation grant, which will take us to a new level in resources that we can offer to our educational community."

SheHeroes began to focus on STEM careers in recent years to address the gender disparity in STEM. While women make up 48% of the workforce, they currently hold only 28% of the jobs in STEM as reported by the National Science Foundation. According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers, STEM graduates are among the most sought after in the job market. Girls cannot afford to lag behind their boy counterparts in this arena when so much of tomorrow's workforce will be in STEM-related fields.

"We're pleased to support SheHeroes in their efforts to empower young women from all backgrounds to pursue STEM careers," said Amir Mossanen, Los Angeles market president, speaking on behalf of Truist Foundation. "Exposing young women to STEM fields and offering them a better understanding of the opportunities available to them, including roles models, makes STEM careers feel more accessible."

About SheHeroes

SheHeroes is a California-based nonprofit that inspires girls to dream big for their futures through a website featuring profiles of successful women in diverse careers, with a focus on STEM careers. Each video comes with a discussion guide. The website and free videos are designed for use by parents/kids, teachers, after-school programs and career/guidance counselors.

About Truist Foundation

The Truist Foundation is committed to Truist Financial Corporation's (TFC) purpose to inspire and build better lives and communities. Established in 2020, the foundation makes strategic investments in nonprofit organizations to help ensure the communities it serves have more opportunities for a better quality of life. The Truist Foundation's grants and activities focus on leadership development, economic mobility, thriving communities and educational equity. Learn more at Truist.com/Truist-Foundation.

Contact:

Lori Nelson
Executive Director, SheHeroes
Lori@SheHeroes

Audria Belton, Truist
media@truist.com