Girls at the Center of a Global Movement to Create Lasting Change

Today CARE, Girl Scouts of the USA, Seventeen magazine and The Documentary Group set into motion The Power of Girls, a ground-breaking partnership that will connect girls worldwide and mobilize them around important global issues, including the critical role that girls' education and leadership plays in addressing poverty. The Power of Girls puts girls at the heart of a conversation about the most important issues of our time.

"Every girl can become a force for change," says Dr. Helene D. Gayle, president and CEO of CARE, a humanitarian organization that fights global poverty by empowering women and girls. "To unlock her potential, she must have the opportunity to go to school and build the skills and confidence needed to meet life's challenges head on. Education and leadership skills provide a foundation from which all girls can grow and excel – whether they live in Manhattan or Mali."

At the heart of The Power of Girls is a pledge that urges American girls to learn about issues affecting girls worldwide and to and share their findings with friends. The pledge, which can be found at www.thepowerofgirls.com, places a particular focus on raising awareness of the barriers that prevent girls from going to school in developing countries, including lack of funding for schools and supplies; gender discrimination; and chronic poverty that pushes girls into the workforce at an early age. The goal is to collect 50,000 pledges by International Women's Day 2011 (March 8).

"One of the great things about being a girl is the inherent connection we feel with one another, and the power we wield when we work together," says Kathy Cloninger, chief executive officer, Girl Scouts of the USA. "By working with CARE and others, we're helping girls in the United States understand what girls just like them are facing in countries all over the world, encouraging them to be advocates for one another and ultimately identifying solutions to some of the world's most pressing problems – all from a girl's perspective."

Learn more at www.care.org/thepowerofgirls!

And, don't forget to take the pledge today: