How to plan a Because I am a Girl Day at your school

If you've been wanting to plan a Because I am a Girl event at your school then this blog post is just what you've been looking for!

Sunderland Public School put together an amazing Because I am a Girl Day at their school in December and they were kind enough to share some details about how they did it!

The grade 7 and 8 girls helped plan it and had 50 more girls helping out. T

They invited about 400 girls (8 schools in total) to attend the first Because I am a Girl Day. They also invited Brie Mathers, an eating disorder survivor, to talk about her personal experiences and share her "Love the Skin You're In" multimedia presentation.

The Sunderland girls did a 15 minute presentation about the Because I am a Girl movement and encouraged all of our guests to get involved. Their presentation included a "Girls have the Right to... " dramatic presentation, slideshow with videos, personal stories, etc.

The Sundancers (Sunderland Dance Club) then taught all the girls a simple but energetic dance to the song Firework by Katy Parry.

The girls baked about 600 cupcakes and served pink lemonade to all of the guests. The guests donated money (they raised a total of $345.47 that day and later got another $100 the other day from one of the visiting schools). After refreshments the girls had a chance to mingle, dance, etc.

Here is a list of some of the extra planning that they did to make sure it was a success!

BEFORE:

- Sent out invitations to all the girls

- Sent posters to schools so they could put them up in their hallways

- All guests were encouraged to dress in pink

- Invited the newspaper to come and capture the event.

DURING:

- Each guest put their name in a draw for a door prize (they filled the girl bags with Because I am a Girl stuff from the Pink LemonAid kit, hair clips, Dove samples, etc. and a teacher won a plant)

- Created a banner for all the guests to sign and it is now up in our school

- Each guest was given a glow stick necklace when they arrived

- Each guest was given a piece of paper they could write on so they could leave a comment card

- Decorated the gym to go along with our PINK theme and put up inspirational quotes on large hearts around the gym

- Several of the girls created art that reflected their feelings on body image, self-esteem, goals, etc. and put them up on the wall as an "Art Gallery"

AFTER:

- Gave each girl and teacher a thank you card as they left with information and links to the Because I am a Girl website

- Put pictures from the event up on the school bulletin board You can also check out a blog post from Brie, the guest speaker at the event, with more photos!