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January 25, 2016
Days for Girls Making a Global Impact for Women
Days for Girls is a non-profit organization aimed at creating a more dignified, free, and educated world through access to lasting feminine hygiene solutions. 

Providing girls with sanitary feminine hygiene products allows them to gain 5 more days each month to attend school and seek other opportunities for themselves.

With 550+ chapters worldwide, Days for Girls produces kits and partners with local organizations to distribute them to areas in need. Since 2008, over 300,000 kits have been created, reaching over 85 countries. 

Utah Valley University will be holding a service and volunteer event promoting the Days for Girls vision of providing every girl and woman in the world with feasible access to quality sustainable hygiene & health education by 2022. 

Please join the #5MoreDays movement on February 3, from 10am-3pm in UVU's Grande Ballroom (see poster below) and help earn back those 5 days for all girls around the world.

To find out more information about Days for Girls, please visit  www.daysforgirls.org or follow #5MoreDays on social media.

What are we not asking? Simple solutions for global impact: Celeste Mergens at TEDxBellingham
What are we not asking? Simple solutions for global impact: Celeste Mergens at TEDxBellingham

Student Highlight
UVU Student- Kaycee Colledge

Kaycee Colledge is a junior at UVU studying Communication with an emphasis in Public Relations. She is heavily involved on campus; as a team lead in Women Helping Women LEAD program, on the chapter business procedure team with Skills USA, as a member of PRSSA, in the Communication National Honor Society. Even with all those activities, she finds time to be an intern at the Women's Success Center and  manage a small party store!
 
Education is super important in Kaycee's family, and so she decided graduation was non-negotiable. She hopes to pursue public relations as a career after she graduates. She looks forward to receiving her certificate from the CAL program, and encourages other women to join the LEAD program. Her experience with the Women Helping Women LEAD program has helped her network, built friendships, and put her on a path that she would not have been able to find if she was not in the program.
 
The WSC loves having Kaycee on our team! She has an infectious positive attitude and a passion for helping women achieve their educational goals. She did great work last semester as a volunteer for the Clothesline Project and the Women's Walk Gala, and we look forward to seeing her talents transfer over to all our other great events!

Events
Upcoming Events




Utah Women's Walk
Celeste Mergens, 
Founder of Days for Girls
As a child, Celeste Mergens and her family were often homeless, wandering from town to town as her step-father looked for work.  Celeste was often without food and water.  At one of these times, Celeste was five years old and had a life defining moment.  She was in a city park, barefoot, unkempt, and hungry.  A woman walking her dog passed by and tossed a half eaten apple into the garbage.  At that moment, Celeste wanted to dive into the garbage and retrieve the apple; she was starved for food, and especially fresh fruit.  While contemplating, Celeste had a distinct impression she was being watched.  She looked up and saw the woman staring at her.  She felt the disgust of the woman for her, as the woman asked Celeste, "Where are your shoes?"  Celeste managed to say that she was toughening her feet.  However, Celeste thought, I am a person!  I am not what you see, I am me, I am here and I am now.  I am a child of God!  It was these thoughts and beliefs that would form her mission in life.
Celeste has lived by the motto that all are God's children, all matter in His sight.  She shares that message as she serves others through humanitarian and community service.  She taught her family to serve in the community and Celeste's efforts have now expanded around the globe.  Several years ago she visited an orphanage in Kenya.  Through a series of tragic political events in Kenya, Celeste found herself praying one night, asking how she could feed the children of the now overflowing orphanage.  The answer surprised her: "Help the young women with their feminine hygiene needs."  While surprised, she didn't explain away the answer, but began to search for solutions.  Again, through a series of miracles, she designed a reusable feminine pad for young women and women in impoverished countries who were without access to these supplies.  At the time, when young women were menstruating, they had to leave school, miss work, meals, and some were sexually exploited by men for a single disposable pad.  To address these needs, Celeste founded Days for Girls (DfG), an organization that makes washable sanitary pads.  DfG has distributed feminine hygiene kits with these pads to over 200,000 women and children in 87 nations and 6 continents.  Organizations, communities, and individuals have volunteered supplies, means and the man power to make these kits.  The goal of DfG is to teach the women the world over how to make their own kits that they may become self-sufficient and empowered in their own countries.  The motto and goal of DfG is "Every girl, everywhere, period, by 2022."
Celeste describes herself as love, especially love for children.  She reflects back on that day in the park, remembering the message of I am me, I am here, I am now and I am a child of God.   She hopes each she encounters will see themselves from the outside looking in and recognize how incredibly beautiful and powerful they are, naturally.  She reminds us, "Each is beautiful and powerful, no matter what we are going through, no matter what our circumstances."
 
Learn more about Utah Women's Walk at  www.utahwomenswalk.com

Club Corner
Become Part of the Best Club on Campus!
Joining Women of UVU is quick and easy! 
 
Just follow these simple steps and you'll be set:
 
1.  Go to  www.uvu.edu   
 
2.  Log in to UVU Link
  
3.  Click the "Student" tab at the top of the page
 
4.  Click the "Student Services and Resources" link along the left side of the page
 
5.  Click "Club Dues Payments" link in the middle column on the page
 
6.  Click "Women of UVU" (all the clubs are listed in alphabetical order)
 
7.  Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click "Continue to Payment"
 
8.  Enter the required information (including cell phone and email). Pay with a credit card or personal check
 
9.  Click "Submit Payment"
 
10. You will then get an e-mail receipt and updates about the club!

Announcements

UVU's Women's Success Center

UVU's Women's Success Center was established in 2011 with the mission to help women enter and graduate from UVU. Recent studies show that Utah has the lowest graduation rates for women in the nation. The WSC helps women overcome barriers that can stop them from furthering their college education. They offer many services including- support, advocacy, individual success coaching, scholarship assistance, leadership opportunities and more. The Women's Success Center is dedicated to helping women see themselves as confident and capable of achieving their educational goals. To learn more visit the Women's Success Center Web site at http://www.uvu.edu/wsc

 

 


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Motivational Quote

An educated girl can have a profound impact on the development of a community. 

-Dr. Pedro Sanchez

Tip of the Week
Questions about financial aid?
FAFSA workshops are available every Tuesday and Thursday 10-12 and 2-4 in LA 111a. 
All students welcome!

Women's Success Center Services

The Women's Success Center has many services available to help women graduate from UVU in order to improve their lives. Some of the services we have to offer include:
  • Individual Success Coaching
  •  Support & Advocacy
  • Scholarships/Financial Assistance
  • Community & Campus Resources
  • Leadership Opportunities
  • Meaningful Special Events
  • WISTEM
  • Chocolate
Opportunities
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