Hardy Girls Healthy Women believes in creating opportunities for young people to lead, connect with one another, and really learn that their voices and their stories matter. 

This year we’ve talked a lot about how youth around the world are no longer waiting for adults to make change. Young people are raising awareness, standing for equity and social justice, and developing systems to change the world. The young women, self-identifying girls and gender expansive folks involved with HGHW are inspiring, creative, compassionate, and engaged.

The Girls* Rock! Awards is such a cool event because it is HGHW’s chance to celebrate youth around the state who are contributing to their communities, shaping change, and making an impact. 

The awards happen after a day of conference workshops that the high school students involved with HGHW create and facilitate for middle schoolers. Last year, at the conference held at Waynflete, in between cutting up oranges for lunchtime and taking some fairly mediocre pictures to try to help HGHW staff catch their breath, after watching hundreds of middle schoolers run from room to room to listen to talks created & given by teens - on things ranging from STEM to consent - giggling together as they made buttons and posed for pictures, I felt so grateful to know that HGHW exists - for my own daughter and for young women in this state. 

That day we managed to squeeze in a little room for an early dinner at Empire Chinese Kitchen before heading back to Waynflete for the Girls* Rock Awards. We were blown away by the award winners. It was powerful to be in a room full of people supporting these amazing young people. To be inspired by the keynote speaker - to learn about programs and other communities in our state. The energy buzzed and we were moved, challenged, and deeply hopeful.

For 2020 we have just confirmed 6 fabulous award winners.

Our speaker is Nadya Okamoto, who grew up in Portland, OR, is a 21-years-old Harvard student on a leave of absence. She is the Founder and Executive Director of PERIOD (period.org), an organization she founded at the age of 16. PERIOD is now the largest youth-run NGO in women’s health, and one of the fastest growing ones here in the United States. Since 2014 they have addressed over 800,000 periods and registered over 500 campus chapters. In 2017, Nadya ran for office in Cambridge, MA. While she did not win, her campaign team made historic waves in mobilizing young people on the ground and at polls. Nadya recently published her debut book, Period Power: A Manifesto for the Menstrual Movement with publisher Simon & Schuster, which made the Kirkus Reviews list for Best Young Adult Nonfiction of 2018. Most recently, Nadya has become the Chief Brand Officer of JUV Consulting, a Generation Z marketing agency based in NYC. Most recently Nadya was named to InStyle Magazine’s “The Badass 50:Meet the Women Who Are Changing the World” list, along with Michelle Obama, Ariana Grande, and Dr. Christine Blasey Ford.

I’m super excited about this year’s event. I love working on the board to support HGHW. I love that this organization is youth led. I love that we have a mission to let girls know that they can show up and be seen and held for their incredible capacity. I love that we honor girls for being kind and brave and for being vulnerable and invested in shaping their own futures.

If you are able and interested, please join me in supporting Hardy Girls. Here’s how you can help: 

1. Donate to my fundraising campaign and help sponsor Hardy Girls. We would love to have people who can donate any amount - $25, $50, $75 - any and all amounts help! Your donations ensure we can provide free and low-cost programming to over 1,200 girls around the state! 

2. Attend the Girls Rock! Awards on Friday, March 27 at Waynflete in Portland.

3. Help a girl attend a Girls Rock! Conference. If you know a 4th through 8th grade girl, or a parent of one in the greater Portland, Waterville, or Bangor area, please consider sharing this information and encourage them to attend. Girls Rock! Conferences are created and hosted by our high school Girls Advisory Board.

Thank you so much for joining me, and all of the incredible people involved with HGHW, to support girls in Maine!

Hardy Girls' biggest fundraiser is the annual Girls* Rock! Awards. This is one awesome night of listening to girls talk about leaping over stereotypes, ignoring the haters and smashing the patriarchy. We honor six girls* who are challenging society and making changes around our state. Hardy Girls Healthy Women takes girls seriously and puts the power in their hands to challenge a society that ignores their brilliance. 

*self-identifying girls and gender expansive youth