Celebrate International Day of the Girl with PEOPLE's Girls Changing the World in 2024 (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Photo:Jerry Holt/Minnesota Star Tribune via Getty

Jerry Holt/Minnesota Star Tribune via Getty

In honor of International Day of the Girl, PEOPLE is highlighting the powerful work that eight young women are doing in their own backyards — and the ripple effect it’s having far and wide.Read more about their important work below.

In honor of International Day of the Girl, PEOPLE is highlighting the powerful work that eight young women are doing in their own backyards — and the ripple effect it’s having far and wide.

Read more about their important work below.

01of 07Maya Mor, 19Mor sees Girls Run Global as a way to improve mental and physical health while also offering “joy and community.”.Jerry Holt/Minnesota Star Tribune via GettyEmpowering Youth for the Long RunAs a lifelong athlete, Maya Mor believes sports can be a powerful tool for social change. The Minnetonka, Minn., native is putting that theory into practice withGirls Run Global, the nonprofit she launched last spring during a gap year before joining Georgetown University’s cross-country and track teams. Mor traveled to the SEGA Girls’ Secondary School in Morogoro, Tanzania, to mentor 70 teens from vulnerable backgrounds, teaching them life skills and promoting confidence, teamwork and leadership through running. “These skills can help them overcome the significant barriers they’re facing,” says Mor, who provides all essential gear through partner support and has plans to expand to other schools in East Africa. “Once I get a big idea in my head . . . I typically run with it.”

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Maya Mor, 19

Mor sees Girls Run Global as a way to improve mental and physical health while also offering “joy and community.”.Jerry Holt/Minnesota Star Tribune via Getty

Empowering Youth for the Long Run

As a lifelong athlete, Maya Mor believes sports can be a powerful tool for social change. The Minnetonka, Minn., native is putting that theory into practice withGirls Run Global, the nonprofit she launched last spring during a gap year before joining Georgetown University’s cross-country and track teams. Mor traveled to the SEGA Girls’ Secondary School in Morogoro, Tanzania, to mentor 70 teens from vulnerable backgrounds, teaching them life skills and promoting confidence, teamwork and leadership through running. “These skills can help them overcome the significant barriers they’re facing,” says Mor, who provides all essential gear through partner support and has plans to expand to other schools in East Africa. “Once I get a big idea in my head . . . I typically run with it.”

02of 07Brooke Friedman, 19, & JoJo Friedman, 16“You don’t have to come up with the craziest idea in the world to make a difference,” says Brooke (left, with JoJo at an April pop-up event in L.A.).Courtesy of Howard FreshmanProviding a Boutique Experience for Teens in NeedA pandemic closet clean-out inspired sisters Brooke and JoJo Friedman to think about the young women who might receive their brimming trash bags filled with hand-me-downs. “We thought, ‘What does it mean if these girls get our clothes but don’t even like them?’ ” says Brooke, a freshman at the University of Michigan. In June 2022 they launched the nonprofitSheStyles, which has hosted curated pop-up “boutiques” — 10 so far — at which teens are paired with “SheStylists” (the sisters and high school volunteers) to select new and gently used donated items that suit their tastes. To date 700 underserved girls in the Los Angeles area have left SheStyles events with custom shopping bags full of items they love. Says JoJo, an 11th grader: “It gives them confidence to pick out their own clothes.”

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Brooke Friedman, 19, & JoJo Friedman, 16

“You don’t have to come up with the craziest idea in the world to make a difference,” says Brooke (left, with JoJo at an April pop-up event in L.A.).Courtesy of Howard Freshman

Courtesy of Howard Freshman

Providing a Boutique Experience for Teens in Need

A pandemic closet clean-out inspired sisters Brooke and JoJo Friedman to think about the young women who might receive their brimming trash bags filled with hand-me-downs. “We thought, ‘What does it mean if these girls get our clothes but don’t even like them?’ ” says Brooke, a freshman at the University of Michigan. In June 2022 they launched the nonprofitSheStyles, which has hosted curated pop-up “boutiques” — 10 so far — at which teens are paired with “SheStylists” (the sisters and high school volunteers) to select new and gently used donated items that suit their tastes. To date 700 underserved girls in the Los Angeles area have left SheStyles events with custom shopping bags full of items they love. Says JoJo, an 11th grader: “It gives them confidence to pick out their own clothes.”

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Legacy Jackson, 15

Among other innovative charitable events, Jackson has rented out a water park and charged admission: diapers and wipes for a St. Louis-area diaper bank.Courtesy Kynedra Ogunnaike

Courtesy Kynedra Ogunnaike

Legacy Jackson grew up volunteering with her mother in their St. Louis community and one day asked a simple yet striking question: “Where are the kids?” In 2016, at age 7, Jackson launchedLittle Legacies, a nonprofit focused on creating fun community-service acts specifically for children. Recent projects include renovating a play space at a homeless shelter, an ice-skating party/winter clothing drive and a princess party for local at-risk girls. “When you have fun, it makes you want to come back and do it again,” says Jackson. “[The youth volunteers] are both giving and receiving something.”

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Naya Ellis, 15

“You’re capable of anything, at any age,” says Ellis (in Washington, D.C., in April) of what she’s learned. She was recently named a National STEM Challenge champion for her design.Courtesy Donielle Ellis

Courtesy Donielle Ellis

Designing Affordable Tech to Predict Strokes

05of 07Arya Gurumukhi, 16Arya Gurumukhi in the lab.Courtesy Arya GurumukhiCreating Renewable Energy For Remote CommunitiesIn 2021, during the devastating winter storms in Texas, Arya Gurumukhi and her family huddled in a frigid apartment for almost a week with no power. “It really hit me how vulnerable our energy sources are,” says the 11th grader from Sachse. Inspired, she began reading voraciously and communicating with university researchers to help create a more efficient form of Bionic Leaf, a solar-powered device that mimics photosynthesis to create fuel from water, sunlight and bacteria. Gurumukhi, who recently won a2024 Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes, has worked alongside nonprofits and NGOs to distribute her prototype — which she offers free of charge — to 15 rural communities in Uganda, who successfully use it to power lamps and motors. “It makes me feel really good that I’m seeing my project impact people in real time,” she says.

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Arya Gurumukhi, 16

Arya Gurumukhi in the lab.Courtesy Arya Gurumukhi

Courtesy Arya Gurumukhi

Creating Renewable Energy For Remote Communities

In 2021, during the devastating winter storms in Texas, Arya Gurumukhi and her family huddled in a frigid apartment for almost a week with no power. “It really hit me how vulnerable our energy sources are,” says the 11th grader from Sachse. Inspired, she began reading voraciously and communicating with university researchers to help create a more efficient form of Bionic Leaf, a solar-powered device that mimics photosynthesis to create fuel from water, sunlight and bacteria. Gurumukhi, who recently won a2024 Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes, has worked alongside nonprofits and NGOs to distribute her prototype — which she offers free of charge — to 15 rural communities in Uganda, who successfully use it to power lamps and motors. “It makes me feel really good that I’m seeing my project impact people in real time,” she says.

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Charlotte Rosario, 17

Rosario with her trusty Nikon.Joyce Bernas-Yung

Joyce Bernas-Yung

Promoting Philanthropy Through Photography

07of 07Keegan Lee, 19Lee coauthored “60 Days of Discon­nect,” based on her own experi­ences, with Elon University professor and psychologist Bilal Ghandour.Discovery EducationChallenging Kids to Log Off for Mental HealthA few years ago, when faced with the reality that her SnapChat, TikTok and Instagram habits had become “all-consuming,” Keegan Lee did the seemingly impossible: She put down her phone. “I quit for a week and experienced a lot of beautiful things,” recalls the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill sophomore, who later completed a two-month hiatus. “I developed this higher tolerance for boredom. I could sit and be still once I resisted the urge to go online.” Today Lee educates middle and high school students about the negatives (and positives) of social media and, as a youth council member of the nonprofitMental Health America, helps conduct research on building a “more humane digital world.” She’s even created a course for parents and educators to teach healthy habits to children. “Although we can have meaningful relationships online, it’s the in-person, physical and tangible interactions that bring the most satisfaction,” she says.

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Keegan Lee, 19

Lee coauthored “60 Days of Discon­nect,” based on her own experi­ences, with Elon University professor and psychologist Bilal Ghandour.Discovery Education

Discovery Education

Challenging Kids to Log Off for Mental Health

A few years ago, when faced with the reality that her SnapChat, TikTok and Instagram habits had become “all-consuming,” Keegan Lee did the seemingly impossible: She put down her phone. “I quit for a week and experienced a lot of beautiful things,” recalls the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill sophomore, who later completed a two-month hiatus. “I developed this higher tolerance for boredom. I could sit and be still once I resisted the urge to go online.” Today Lee educates middle and high school students about the negatives (and positives) of social media and, as a youth council member of the nonprofitMental Health America, helps conduct research on building a “more humane digital world.” She’s even created a course for parents and educators to teach healthy habits to children. “Although we can have meaningful relationships online, it’s the in-person, physical and tangible interactions that bring the most satisfaction,” she says.

source: people.com