Michelle Obama’s Girls Opportunity Alliance Marks International Day of the Girl by Providing More Than $1 Million in Support to Girl-Serving Organizations


Michelle Obama’s Girls Opportunity Alliance Marks International Day of the Girl by Providing More Than $1 Million in Support to Girl-Serving Organizations 
The Alliance will support 11 Chicago-based and 15 international organizations that work to empower adolescent girls


CHICAGO – In honor of International Day of the Girl, former First Lady and founder of The Obama Foundation’s Girls Opportunity Alliance, Michelle Obama, announced a new commitment to support organizations that uplift and empower adolescent girls worldwide. The Alliance will support 11 organizations in Chicago with a total of $523,000 and 15 international organizations with a total of $584,000. All 26 organizations are dedicated to the advancement of girls. These organizations join the 19 international organizations and 14 Chicago-based organizations that received funding and organizational support earlier this year.

In a new video released today, Michelle Obama honored the power and potential inside each and every girl. “This year, we’re uplifting more organizations than ever before,” said Michelle Obama. “This investment will help them provide mentorship, stand up against violence, empower girls through sports and arts, and teach them about community leadership.”

The Girls Opportunity Alliance is dedicated to empowering and educating adolescent girls, helping them reach their full potential and create lasting change in their families, communities, and countries by connecting leaders, amplifying the impact of grassroots organizations, and raising public awareness. To date, the Girls Opportunity Alliance has supported more than 150 grassroots organizations across 37 countries, directly benefiting more than 120,000 girls.

With the support of the Girls Opportunity Alliance, these organizations will expand their programming and impact, for example:

  • Focus Fairies Mentoring: Uplifts and supports at-risk women and girls who have experienced violence on Chicago's West and South Side through personalized mentoring, case management, group therapy, and social-emotional learning. With this funding, Focus Fairies will repurpose a 17-passenger van into a mobile mentoring unit, with a goal of reaching up to 65 girls in vulnerable communities who face transportation barriers and access to traditional site-based mentoring programs.
  • A Long Walk Home: Provides arts-based leadership programming that empowers young people to help end gender-based violence, creates safe spaces for survivors, and advocates for racial and gender equity. The Girls Opportunity Alliance will support the development of the first online curriculum for the organization's leadership institute, which will include girl-led educational campaigns and lesson plans focused on gender-based violence prevention, radical storytelling, and wellness.
  • Box United: Utilizes boxing as a pathway for girls to unlock their full potential and build a movement of positive mental health for girls. With this funding, Box United will expand a research-backed leadership development initiative that combines boxing with lessons on physical and mental wellbeing to increase girls’ confidence, strength, and self-compassion. The program will expand into five new schools on the South Side of Chicago, with the goal of serving 125 students.
  • Murua Girl Child Education Program: Aims to empower girls in pastoralist communities in Kenya, by improving access to education and promoting gender equality. With this funding, the initiative will enhance ten schools' reading, math, and writing programs in Narok County. The Murua Girl Child Education Program will also create four mentorship camps for girls who are at risk of female genital cutting and child marriage.
  • Access Planet: Promotes dignified lives for girls with disabilities in Nepal, founded and led by women with disabilities. With this funding, Access Planet will provide digital literacy classes with assistive technology, an adaptive sports camp, and workshops on topics such as gender-based violence and leadership development. The organization will also train local teachers and health care workers about the needs of girls with disabilities, working to improve access to essential services.

 Quinta Ola: Works to develop a future generation of girl leaders in Peru who are bold, courageous, and believe in their ability to bring about change. The Girls Opportunity Alliance will support Quinta Ola’s flagship leadership development program to support girls between the ages of 13 and 17, who will learn skills such as public speaking and community building. Quinta Ola will also provide workshops on topics like gender-based violence prevention to educate and engage girls, their families, and community members about issues impacting girls.

The leaders of these and other girl-serving organizations around the world will join the Girls Opportunity Alliance Network, a community of more than 4,000 leaders around the world, which facilitates the exchange of ideas, information, and resources to enhance organizational capacity and sustainability. As Network members, these leaders also benefit from capacity-building workshops, Obama Foundation programming, and more.

Learn more about all of the organizations receiving support from the Girls Opportunity Alliance here.

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