Back in 2001,  The FreeGirl Dream was started by three close friends in South Florida. Oddly enough, three men, after having witnessed startling footage of women being lined up on television and publicly executed for having shown their hair in public.

 

Little did they know that their innocent conversation about freedom and women’s rights would take on a mind of its own and inspire those around them, in their own family and within their community. A groundswell of support ensued and the FreeGirl Family grows larger and larger each and every day.

 

 

These three men were unfamiliar with the gender-based violence movement and were thrust into the project and learned as they went along. It was truly a baptism by fire for all three.  They had no idea that their innocent little conversation way back when could one day have a significant impact on the issue at hand.

 

 

The more research that was done, the more they realized that they were embarking on addressing the most significant human rights epidemic of their time. They learned that 1 in every 3 women will be beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused during their lifetime. They learned that violence kills and disables as many women between the ages of 15 and 44 as cancer. And its toll on women’s health surpasses that of traffic accidents and malaria combined.

 

 

They decided long ago that they would set out to build a global organization the size of the Susan G. Komen foundation. Their vision was to dream big, and if at the end of the day they could help just one woman’s life be a little bit easier then it all would have been worth it.  They understood that they had an uphill battle because of the social stigma attached, the shroud of secrecy surrounding it, and the cultural practices that are widely accepted around the globe that would make the task of making a difference difficult.

 

Today, that great idea is now The FreeGirl Foundation, a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization created to raise awareness around gender-based violence directed at women and girls here at home in the United States and around the world.

Rather than raise money and donate it to a few select battered wives’ shelters, the plan is to promote self-empowerment and raise awareness through the arts via a multimedia platform to attempt to shift society’s perspective and perception of women.

Working with strategic, influential celebrities and corporations, FreeGirl will engage today’s generation to work together, men and women, to change the paradigm of how women are portrayed in the media.

The time for change was yesterday. But here we are today planning for a safer world and a better tomorrow. FreeGirl isn’t your ordinary nonprofit foundation. She is more than that. She is a lifestyle, a mindset that says anything is possible.  She has a rendevouz with destiny. And she needs you to become involved if she is to achieve her mission.