Parent Talk / October 2006
Girls Going Places
The Girls Going Places® Entrepreneurship Award Program launched by Guardian Life Insurance Company recognizes and rewards teen-aged girls who demonstrate exceptional entrepreneurship. More than $200,000 has been awarded to young women from across the nation in the program to further education and support entrepreneurial pursuits.
Adults are asked to nominate girls– daughters, nieces, neighbors or students–by submitting a 750 to 1,000-word essay on why the nominee deserves a Girls Going Places® award. Fifteen girls will be awarded a total of $30,000. A panel of judges will review the essays and pick finalists that demonstrate budding entrepreneurship or financial acumen; have taken the first steps toward financial independence; make a difference in their school or community and show potential for future success by initiating a new business.
The Girls Going Places® Award program anchors Guardian’s Women’s Initiative, which was established to help women create, invest and protect wealth. As part of this effort, Guardian is a National Patron of the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO), which partially underwrites the Girls Going Places® awards. The program highlights the extraordinary goals undertaken by young women across the nation.
The National First Place winner of the $10,000 scholarship in the 2006 competition, Ionnie McNeill, 18, of Miami, FL, was nominated for founding Speak 2 Share Inc., a business geared towards teaching youth about investing and money management.
Last year’s second-place contestant was a 15-year-old girl from Utah who founded Astrotots, a non-profit that runs space and science camps for young girls. The third-place winner, a 15-year-old girl from Massachusetts, founded Cell Phones for Soldiers, a non-profit organization that provides free cell phones and phone cards to military men and women.
“The numbers of women doing amazing things in business is growing by staggering amounts, and we want to recognize their accomplishments and help prepare young women for their future,” said Emily Viner, Field, a Guardian Vice President. “There are more than 6.5 million women-owned companies across the nation and they account for 7.1 million workers-Girls Going Places® educates young women about these financial and entrepreneurial opportunities that are available to them.”
The three top prizes of $10,000, $5,000 and $3,000 and 12 finalist prizes of $1,000 will be presented to each winner within their respective communities. Nominations are being accepted now and entries will be considered through February 16, 2007.
For more information and nomination forms, visit www.girlsgoingplaces.com.
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