GirlsCan is a new website from Ignite providing inspiration and positive role models for girls. GirlsCan aims to inspire girls to lead their own futures, make positive choices and determine their own paths. GirlsCan will show the range of life choices that women have made and what is possible to achieve through profiles of inspiring women.

Profiles of Inspiring Women

We are looking for women of all ages, from young women just starting out to women at the top of their game and everyone in between. We want to show the full range of what women are out there doing, what they are achieving and the paths they took to get where they are. We want the good with the bad so girls can learn from others how to deal with setbacks and barriers as well as successes.

We are looking for women:

• who are happy where they are in life
• who are able to talk openly and honestly about their journey so far, and share the ups and downs and how they dealt with these
• of all ages, from young women just starting out with a story to tell, to women who have lots of experience under their belt

We will work with you to share your profile on the GirlsCan site in one of three ways:

1. meet with you and film an interview which we will then post on the site
2. arrange an interview over the phone which we will record and post an audio profile, or transcribe the interview to a written profile
3. link to existing material that you are happy for GirlsCan to link to and provides a full story for GirlsCan

To get involved email kathleen@ignite-leadership.org.

Sponsors: Can you help make GirlsCan a reality?

We are looking to find sponsors and pro-bono support to get the project off the ground and enable us to recruit the Girls Leadership Group this side of the new year. All sponsors will be recognised for their contribution to GirlsCan on the website and in promotional materials.

Ways you can help:

• We need to raise £8,000 up to March 2011 to induct, train and support the Girls Leadership Group and pay for things like CRB checks for volunteers and insurance
• Ten Laptops for the Girls Leadership Group and wireless internet
• Five Flip Cameras and tripods for the Girls to record interviews for the website
• Monthly weekend meeting space in London or Cambridge
• Incentives and Prizes for users of the site for when the Girls Leadership Group consults with girls on the test site e.g. Ipods, a day shadowing a top leader or anything else your company can offer
• Some occasional technical support in flash and programming
• Training for the Girls Leadership Group:
  • Team building and leadership skills
  • Interviewing skills for conducting interviews of women for the video profiles on the website
  • Editing the filmed interviews
  • Promoting the website through social media

If you would like to join our team as a sponsor please get in touch with Kathleen at kathleen@ignite-leadership.org or on 07941 784553.

Girls Leadership Group

A Girls Leadership Group of about 10 girls and young women will be recruited to lead the development of the website. The girls will use the test site we are currently developing as a starting point and shape that into fantastic website that will inspire all girls. The Leadership Team will receive training to help them develop the skills they need to work as a team and develop a site that is not only inspiring but also looks great and is easy to use.

We will begin recruiting for this group when sponsorship is secured which we hope will be by October this year. For updates on the recruitment of the Girls Leadership Group sign up for news on the right hand side of this page.

* The name for the website ‘GirlsCan’ and the logo was voted on a by a group of girls on an Ignite programme.