Clinton Foundation Aligns Partners for Girl Athletes

The Clinton Foundation provides research and information on how to get youth, and particularly girls, more physically active.

The #GirlsAre campaign coordinated by The Clinton Foundation last year was so successful at galvanizing media and action for girl athletes, they are doing it again for a second year.

That’s a very good thing, because data shows that girls in the U.S. are far less likely than boys to engage in the recommended amount of physical activity. The Clinton Foundation and the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, along with a long list of foundations and nonprofits, is continuing the #GirlsAre campaign to fight against this worrisome trend for girls.

“Data shows that across the United States, less than 50% of middle school girls get the recommended amount of physical activity each day,” says Chelsea Clinton, Vice Chair of the Clinton Foundation and Board Member of the Alliance for a Healthier Generation. “Why does this matter? This gap in physical activity results in fewer opportunities for girls to develop critical teamwork, confidence, and leadership skills that will help them thrive throughout their lives– as well as to be physically healthy.”

Using the hashtag #GirlsAre, the campaign invites the public to focus attention on the importance of girls’  athleticism, and encourages supporters to talk about the many ways that girls can be physically active and “show their strength.” Running through June 4th, the campaign also has three media partners: Fatherly, Refinery29, and Woman’s Day.

Check out the extensive list of campaign partners:

AdCap, Afterschool Alliance, After-School All-Stars, American Heart Association, Baseball for All, BOOST Collaborative, Boys and Girls Club for Greater Houston, Cage Cricket USA, Carl Sandburg College, Changing the Game Project, ChildObesity180, Coach Cam, Duval County Medical Society Foundation (NEFL), Fuel Up to Play 60, GENYOUth, Girl Scouts of the USA, Girls on the Run International, INEOS ICAN Foundation, JJ’s I'm Me Foundation, LA84 Foundation, Lakeshore Foundation, National Afterschool Association, National Farm to School Network, National Fitness Foundation, National Girls Collaborative Project, National Recreation and Park Association, Play Like a Girl, Safe Routes to Schools National Partnership, Salud America, Sportime featuring SPARK, Sports and Arts Foundation, Texas A&M School of Public Health, The First Tee, The KenKou Group, The OrganWise Guys, Tony Hawk Foundation, Up2Us Sports, Voices for Healthy Kids, the Wasserman Foundation, Women’s Sports Foundation, YMCA of Greater Houston and YWCA Chicago

The campaign also has a bevy of “influential voices” that includes Hilaria Baldwin, Joy Bauer, Wade Davis, Kaliya Johnson, Becca Myers, Megan Rapinoe, Rachael Ray, Allison Stokke and Abby Wambach.

Funding sports for girls is an important way to ensure more healthy life experiences for girls and women early on, an impact which magnifies over time as the lessons of teamwork learned in sports get applied to other aspects of life. The more communities can come together to support equal access to sports for girls, the better. By coordinating the many partners for this campaign, The Clinton Foundation is playing a familiar and important role as convener on a national issue in need of more attention.

 

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Author: Kiersten Marek

Kiersten Marek, LICSW, is the founder of Philanthropy Women. She practices clinical social work and writes about how women donors and their allies are advancing social change.

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