Project Summary

Created by youth for youth, Madison SOS (Speak Out, Sister!) will address community activism in Madison, WI by empowering teen girls to take action on the issues that most matter to them. This initiative will host workshops on activism and publish a report on local girls' hopes for the future.

About me

I'm a 16-year-old Madison public high school student with a strong record of community leadership and activism. I've volunteered as a literacy tutor, worked on various action networks, interned on a grassroots US Senate campaign and at an international girls' magazine, and worked on a community development project in Mexico. I'm the Vice President of my school's philanthropic club and the leader of a student group called IMAGINE A World Without Sexual Violence. I'm a native Spanish speaker and have strong ties to my mother's Mexican-American community. Given these varied experiences in community activism, I feel prepared to lead a rapidly-changing community initiative. Many others have joined this effort. The advisors I mentioned in #3 bring decades of experience in working with teens and activism. The teens participating in the Madison SOS fall workshops are an amazingly diverse group of girls. I have also worked to solicit advice from national experts in grassroots girls' leadership, include co-founder of the Third Wave Foundation Amy Richards and past President of Planned Parenthood Gloria Feldt. I believe strongly in the mission of Madison SOS, and I know that our community has the infrastructure available to make this project happen. Our co-sponsoring organizations provide wonderful resources, but no funding. A $10,000 grant would make an enormous difference in our ability to create lasting social change.