FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions About the Send Girls to School Project
Q: What is the mission of Send Girls to School?
Q: What are the projects and programs of Send Girls to School?
Q: How did Send Girls to School get started?
Q: Is Send Girls to School a nonprofit organization?
Frequently Asked Questions About Girls’ Education
Q: Why is girls’ education so important in the developing world?
Q: Isn’t it also important to educate boys?
Q: Why should we support girls in the developing world when people in our own country need help?
Have a question not answered here? Please email us.
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Q: What is the mission of Send Girls to School?
A: Send Girls to School is an education and advocacy project dedicated to supporting girls’ education in the developing world. We educate the public about the global impact of educating girls, publicize the work of organizations that aid girls’ education, advocate with elected officials, and assist fundraising efforts that further this cause.
A: Our first project is underway now. We are compiling educational resources about girls’ education in the developing world and making them available on this website. These include articles, interviews, profiles, and reports about the significance of girls’ education and the people and organizations working to educate girls. In coming months, we will also be establishing a speakers’ bureau on the topic of girls’ education, building partnerships with other organizations working on this issue, supporting fundraising efforts, and advocating with political leaders. Our future plans include writing and publishing one or more books about educating girls.
A: Send Girls to School was started in 2007 by C.J. Hayden, an author, entrepreneur, and activist in San Francisco. C.J. was once a high school dropout and homeless teenager who eventually put herself through college. She learned first hand the value of education and its impact on a young woman’s self-esteem. While serving as an activist with several projects to aid global poverty, C.J. uncovered a substantial body of research indicating that educating girls could do more to end poverty than any other investment in the developing world. She launched this project to spread the word about this simple but groundbreaking approach to break the cycle of poverty.
A: No. Send Girls to School is an education and advocacy project with a minimal budget. We do not raise funds for our own projects, but instead direct our fundraising efforts to existing nonprofit organizations. We encourage you to support our cause by making a donation to any of the groups listed on our Resources page. At present, all our operating costs are paid by our founder.
A: We are currently seeking volunteers with any of the following skills to help with our projects: writing, research, publicity, fundraising, graphic design, illustration, primary education, instructional design, and public speaking. If you can spare even a few hours per month, you can help. Please email us to find out more. You can also help by donating, educating, and advocating for girls’ education. See our Get Involved page to learn how.
A: The United Nations, the World Bank, and UNICEF have identified educating girls as an investment in the developing world that can have a higher yield than any other type of aid. When girls go to school, household income increases, overpopulation decreases, the health of their family improves, violence and political extremism declines, and more of their future children attend school. Educating girls enables them to become agents of social change in their communities and dramatically improves the lives of their children. You can learn more about the impact of girls’ education in our Resources area.
A: Yes, it is. But when resources are scarce, many families send their boys to school and keep their girls at home and put them to work. That’s why financial support of girls’ education is essential. And educating boys doesn’t have the dramatic impact on communities that girl’s education does. In the words of former U.N. Under-Secretary General Shashi Tharoor, “Educate a boy and you educate a person; educate a girl and you educate a family, a community, a society. Educated girls become better-informed mothers and more empowered human beings… they bring up educated children.”
A: There are needy people in every country, and we think it’s important to contribute wherever you feel called to help. There may be many causes you choose to donate to, and we hope this will be one of them. Typical donors to girls’ education projects live in some of the wealthiest countries in the world, and their donations can make a much more significant difference when used in countries where their money can go further. You can change the future of a family by sending a girl to school for just one year, which can be done for as little as $75. Please consider donating to one of the nonprofit organizations on our Resources page.
If you take action to help girls’ education as a result of visiting this site, please let us know by posting on our Report Card page. Your action will inspire others!