She's the First

By: Keerthana Velappan, EC Scholar and Honors College Sophomore

The following blog post is about the East Carolina University chapter of She’s the First. The chapter was founded by Keerthana and her Honors College peers to give girls around the world the chance to obtain an education.

She’s the First*{East Carolina} is the East Carolina University chapter of She’s the First (STF), a non-profit organization that sponsors girls’ education in low-income countries. This newly founded organization gives girls the chance to become the first in their families to graduate from secondary school. To fulfill this mission, STF mobilizes supporters to fund scholarships and provides a clearer understanding on complex global issues related to poverty. Harnessing technology and social media, STF is committed to connecting sponsors and scholars around the world in innovative, mutually beneficial ways to foster mentorship, philanthropy, equality, and leadership. Ultimately, their student leaders and scholars become the change agents who break cycles of generational poverty and transform the world.

She’s the First’s educational philosophy is that quality always trumps quantity, and they partner with organizations who believe the same. I actually heard about She’s the First through Shanti Bhavan, their partner school in India, and their very first one at that! Shanti Bhavan, founded by Dr. Abraham George in 1996, is a home and exceptional school located in rural Tamil Nadu, India, for the region’s most socially and economically disadvantaged children. These first-generation students, primarily from the “untouchable” (Dalit) caste, are selected at the age of 4 and remain at the school until the completion of high school. Once in college, Shanti Bhavan continues to support them financially and oversees their progress through a careful mentoring program. One of Shanti Bhavan’s blog posts mentioned She’s the First, as STF recently produced an original documentary called “Magho” (“Daughter”) featuring Maheshwari, one of the girls studying at Shanti Bhavan, on her graduation day. Just last week, Maheshwari and Jancy (the very first STF scholar) walked across stage to receive their college diplomas! I hope to intern/teach at Shanti Bhavan during the summer of 2016, after my study abroad experience.

She’s the First has 125+ high school and college/campus chapters across the nation and have sponsored 450+ girls since initiation in 2009. North Carolina has two preexisting STF chapters: Elon and UNC-Asheville, and ECU and UNC-Chapel Hill have just started theirs this semester. Every chapter is responsible for hosting one awareness event and one theme-appropriate fundraiser each semester, a fitness one in the spring (Sweat for STF) and a tie-dye cupcake bake-off in the fall (Bake a Change). STF*{ECU} just hosted a Documentaries & Discussion event (showed “Magho” and “To Educate a Girl”) and will be hosting a donation-based Zumba class on April 19th from 2-3 p.m. in Mendenhall Student Center room 244. We hope to put on a “Day of the Girl” event and sell tie-dye cupcakes in the fall! Please help us raise our fundraising goal of $720 this semester so we can be matched with two girls from Nepal or Uganda (currently at $672) by visiting our fundraising page (http://campus.shesthefirst.org/eastcarolinaU). Also, like our Facebook page to stay updated on all things related to She’s the First and She’s the First*{East Carolina} (https://www.facebook.com/stf.ecu)!