New Investment from Her Girls Opportunity Alliance
Through her Girls Opportunity Alliance organization, former First Lady Michelle Obama is funneling $500,000 into grassroots groups serving girls in her beloved hometown of Chicago. The funds will provide mentorship, jobs programs, health outreach and more.
Targeting Chicago’s South and West Sides
Fourteen local organizations were selected by Mrs. Obama’s group, with a focus on reaching girls in Woodlawn, South Shore and Washington Park – areas around the future Obama Presidential Center. The Girls Opportunity Alliance aims to support 1,800 Chicago girls through this new investment.
Many of the funded organizations were founded by Black women and specifically empower young minority girls in the city, like Kelly Fair’s Polished Pebbles mentoring program.
The funds continue Mrs. Obama’s longstanding efforts to lift up young women of color.
Providing Connections and Amplification
Beyond funding, the supported groups will get access to Obama Foundation resources and in-person events with Mrs. Obama. She hopes the Girls Opportunity Alliance provides “connective tissue” uniting organizations serving Chicago girls.
As Shatina M. Edwards of the M.E.A.N. Girls empowerment group put it: “The Girls Opportunity Alliance has done a great job of amplifying that the girls we serve here in Chicago matter. They have dreams, their dreams matter.”
