Girls Inc. of the Valley Launches Initiative to Educate Future Women Voters

HOLYOKE — Girls Inc. of the Valley recently launched its new initiative, She Votes, with a recorded video from U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren to educate and support future women voters. The goal is to make sure every girl sees herself as a voter, knows the process, and is ready when it’s her turn.

The Girls Inc. team are experts on girls and their development, both locally and nationally. Girls Inc. of the Valley is part of a 150-year-old organization that always puts girls first, inspiring them as they grow into strong, smart, and bold women. The privilege of voting is our most powerful agent of change.

Meanwhile, only 14 states in the U.S. allow 16- and 17-year-olds to pre-register to vote, and Massachusetts is one of them. Girls Inc. of the Valley aims to pre-register as many 16- and 17-year-old girls as possible in this community-wide volunteer effort and to launch a peer fundraising campaign to support the She Votes curriculum. She Votes and Girls Inc. has received commitments from a variety of sponsors, including MassMutual, Peerless Precision, Lotus & Compass Inc., and Chikmedia. Click here to see Warren’s video.

“Girls Inc. teaches us that today’s girls are tomorrow’s leaders,” the senator said. “I want every girl in Massachusetts and across the country to know they can get out there and make their voices heard. Once you turn 16, you can pre-register to vote here in Massachusetts. You don’t have to wait until you’re 18 to be ready for the next election.”

The campaign launched earlier this week on UNICEF’s International Day of the Girl, and will last through Saturday, Oct. 24. Girls Inc. of the Valley hosted a Facebook Live event to premier the launch video from Warren and will be showing video spotlights from a variety of other influential women in politics throughout the campaign. Their goal is to highlight, through these videos, the importance of voting and having women in elected office. The She Votes campaign will take place right here in the Valley, while simultaneous media activities will take place across the U.S. and the globe.

The She Votes campaign is a bold initiative designed to significantly move the needle on providing tangible opportunities for Pioneer Valley girls to achieve academic and personal success. This initiative will help Girls Inc. of the Valley members to learn and share with their families the voting process, and be ready to become a generation of activists accelerating social change.

If interested, or have questions regarding this initiative, contact Jessica Colson at (413) 319-0011 or [email protected].