Girlhood - Important to Me and to the World
www.girlmuseum.org
Girl Museum is a wonderful organization that I have proudly volunteered with for over 3 years. This nonprofit organization is a completely virtual museum that can be accessed online all over the world. The museum shares stories of girlhood and promotes the importance of girls in our world, past, present, and future. Everyone who contributes to Girl Museum is a volunteer. Many of the volunteers have worked with the museum for several years. Supporting this organization is something that I am passionate about, and I'm looking forward to seeing how I can continue to help.
I started volunteering at Girl Museum as an education intern in 2012. I began by adding images to the archives and writing blog posts about various girlhood topics. Eventually, I helped to start projects, fundraise, and co-curate exhibits. It is an amazing feeling to see that hundreds of people have listened to a podcast that I wrote, or that people are interacting with one of my blog posts. With a virtual museum, you might think that it is difficult to see how your support is making an impact on the world, but the world of social media makes it much easier. To see girls interacting with our exhibits, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and blog shows that we are doing something meaningful. I remember a time when we were contacted by someone looking for resources about girls being bullied. We did not have anything on the topic at that time, but it provided an opportunity for us to research bullying and create a resource that could be accessed online. Our Spring 2015 exhibit on girls in STEM was so popular that people wanted more. So we just launched a follow-up exhibit about girls in STEAM. Accepting feedback and suggestions from patrons is one thing, but the fact that we are able and willing to act on those sets us apart. We are filling gaps that have been wide open for ages. It is a great feeling to know that volunteering can have an impact and be the answer to someone's needs.
It has been a great adventure to connect with ladies from around the world as we work together to spread news and history about growing up as a girl. Even though I have not met any other Girl Museum volunteers in person, I feel that we all support each other in many areas of our lives. This supportive community has helped to form a network of positivity about girlhood worldwide.
Girl Museum is great for getting conversations started about important topics. I am so fortunate to be able to support Girl Museum in a way that is meaningful to me, and that provides resources across the globe.
Review from #MyGivingStory