|
The Dove Self-Esteem Fund
The Dove Self-Esteem Fund is collaborating with Girl Scouts of the USA to promote uniquely ME! The Girl Scout/Dove Self-Esteem Program, which addresses the important issue of low-self esteem among tween and teenage girls. In 2002, uniquely ME! was started in partnership with Unilever, the corporate sponsor of the Dove Self-Esteem Fund. By 2008, the program had reached over 300,000 girls in the United States and Puerto Rico through council programs, troops, groups, events, and print and online resources.
Research conducted by the Girl Scout Research Institute shows that low self-esteem, a dilemma facing many girls today, often manifests itself in the form of eating disorders, depression, risky sexual behaviors and substance abuse. The uniquely ME! program supports girls in acquiring and developing the skills necessary to face life's challenges.
Four booklets offering exercises and activities enable girls to build an understanding of self-esteem and how to foster it in themselves and their peers. uniquely ME! The Way To Be is targeted to girls ages 8-10. uniquely ME! Inside and Out and uniquely ME! The Real Deal are for girls ages 11-17. uniquely ME Mirror, Mirror: Discover Your Inner Beauty is a guide for girls 14-17. The activity booklets are available in English and bilingual English/Spanish versions.
An exciting new component of the uniquely ME! program is the participation of MTV News Correspondent, SuChin Pak as the newest spokesperson for the uniquely ME! program. "I am excited to be partnering with Girl Scouts on a cause that is so important to me. As a young Asian-American girl, I never felt like I truly fit in. Girl Scouts would have been a great support system to help me as I developed my own personal identity," said Pak. "I hope I can be a role model for girls out there who might be struggling with their own self-esteem."
As spokesperson, Pak will appear in a series of Girl Scout television and print public service advertisements, which will run nationwide beginning in May. She also will make guest appearances in select cities throughout the U.S.
SuChin joins the ranks of gymnast and Olympic gold medalist Dominique Dawes who has been a spokesperson for the uniquely ME! program since 2002 and America Ferrera, the star of the motion picture, Real Women Have Curves in 2003 and ABC's Ugly Betty who worked with the uniquely ME! program in 2005 and 2006.
Dove, one of the world's largest personal care brands, has created the Dove Self-Esteem Fund as an agent of change to educate girls and inspire women on a wider definition of beauty. In the United States the Dove Self-Esteem Fund solely supports uniquely ME! The Girl Scout/Dove Self-Esteem Program. |
VOLUNTEER