Background Information
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The mission of A Girls World (AGW) is to inspire, educate
and promote girls’ independence. Agirlsworld.com offers a place
where girls can get hands on experience with technology. Our girls don't
just read books, they write them. They don't just play games, they design
them. They don't just come to a website, they help design the pages, write
the articles and edit them. 225,000 girls a month read, submit and shape
every feature on our site, from the penpal program to feature articles.
It's an interactive introduction to how they can use technology to make
things happen: from shaping friendships to saving animals to planning
for their futures. The “girlpower” result? Six million hits
a month with over 600,000 page views.
In May of 1996 "A Girl's World Online Clubhouse,"
www.agirlsworld.com, started in answer to one girl’s complaint that
the Internet was nothing but a “boy’s world” with nothing
of real interest to girls. A group of neighborhood girls met together
with founder, Karen Willson, to produce four web pages of girl-oriented
content that promoted writing, independence and communication. They formed
a “Girl Crew” of girls and teens to create content and design
programs. Seven years later, their 600 page website shows that "girlpower"
on the web works.
In 1997, Yahooligans broke their own rules (that sites
are only mentioned once) by featuring AGW ten times in their themed “Big
Picture” and “Holidays” areas. “Pajama Party”,
a virtual mini-site, offers themed monthly arts and crafts for tweens
and teens.
“Pajama Party”
features include:
- A Girl's World Presents Cupid's
Garden - find cool contests, groovy cards, gifts and recipes to
make, activities, love stories, and fun facts!
- A Girl's World's Mom-A-Thon
- crown your mom the coolest, funniest, or bravest mom on the web. Also
features Mother's Day trivia, fun facts, recipes, and gifts you print
out and make.
- A Girl's World's Dad-A-Thon
- brag on your dad and crown him the coolest, bravest, or funniest dad
on the web! You can also get ideas for fun things to do for him on his
day.
- Women,
Teens, and Girls Who Rock the World - dive into this behind the
scenes look at women with cool careers!
- A Girl's World: Halloween
Spooktacular - has spooky party decorations, recipes, crafts, quizzes,
interactive Halloween games, and scary stories from author David Lubar!
- A Girl's World: Thank-a-thon
Celebration - share your stories about what you're thankful for
and how you spend your Thanksgiving, and check out some cool activities,
recipes, and games.
- A Girl's World Holiday
Happening - fun activities, stories, and facts about Christmas,
Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and other December holidays.
AGW also recruited girls from around the world to
join the Girl Crew in the task of writing advice and interviewing
women with cool careers.
In 1997, AGW added one of the first online International
Penpal Clubs. Praised by the
major Consumer Reporting magazine as one of the safest on the Internet,
the penpal club signed up over 40,000 girls from 180 countries.
What made the penpal club software so interesting to girls is that
each question in the signup area was submitted by a girl or a teen.
Users could use this feature to create their own online “diary”
or journal of weekly events.
In 1998, AGW increased the number of articles on
the website and added interactive features such as the Magic Story,
Quizzes and other games.
In 1999, AGW expanded the online diary
system to become a daily publication of thoughts, experiences and
opinions of girls and teens. Currently, this is one of the most popular
features on the website.
In November, 2000, AGW was honored to be one of the featured
presenters alongside Nickelodeon, Disney and Fox Kids at the Federal Trade
Commission's "Kids' Privacy Compliance Training for Website Operators"
workshop. Privacy and safety are two of AGW's principal concerns. Taking
extra care to protect users from Internet predators, AGW requires signed
permission slips sent through the U.S. mail in order for members to edit
for the club or to get a penpal.
In 2001, members of A Girl's World Online Clubhouse helped
create an educational Web-based game that encourages youngsters to spay
and neuter their pets. Brigid Cleary, 11, and Angela Oritz, 14, recognized
the tragic problem of pet overpopulation and presented their idea for
"Spay Now" to the North County Humane Society two years ago.
PetSmart Charities donated $10,000 to fund the game, which can be accessed
from the North County Humane Society's Web site, www.nchumane.org.
A Girl's World proudly partnered with Wells
College on the Wells College Discovery Program. Wells wanted to get
girls connected with something exciting: their future! As part of this
program, Wells offered a special scholarship and a schedule of selected
chat guests who spoke about their creative and interesting careers. It
was a terrific opportunity for girls and teens everywhere. Thanks to Wells
College's sponsorship, the girls got the ultimate discount; it was free.
A Girl's World launched the first three of a six-book
series of advice books written for girls, by girls and teens that
focus on the daily challenges girls face. Talking About: Boys,
Talking About: Friends and Talking About: Growing Up
from Prima Publishing offer compassionate, insightful and timely advice
that is straight from the heart. Holding fast to their mission for girls
to be independent contributors, three teen editors tackled the tough job
of pouring through thousands of girl-written submissions from around the
globe to compile and deliver their best advice through the Talking About
books.
In 2002, A Girl’s World expanded their Talking About
series. Three additional girl editors joined our family of teen writers
by finding the very best of girls’ views on what they experience
in their daily lives. Their three new books were: Talking About Being
Your Best, Talking About My Life and Talking About Family.
In June of 2002, AGW presented its first online
interactive course: www.babysittingclass.com.
Created by babysitters, endorsed by parents, reviewed by nurses,
EMTs, and public safety educators, this girl-powered course trains
sitters to prevent emergencies through proper planning, and to give
thoughtful, loving care to their charges. The City of Oceanside
Parks and Recreation Department added our Babysitting Class to its
recreation program schedule. The Girl Scouts of America invited
AGW and www.babysittingclass.com
to be exhibitors at their National Convention in Long Beach. Babysittingclass.com
can now serve as part of 14 Girl Scout badges and interest projects,
including the National Safety Award for Juniors, Cadets and Seniors.
In March of 2003, www.babysittingclass.com
certified their 1,000th sitter and sponsored “Sitter School
Safety Week”, a safety and awareness initiative that was picked
up by radio stations across the country and listed in "Chase's
Calendar of Events".
In September of 2004, a new all-web based version
of the penpal club was released and has proved to be an exceptionally
successful way for girls from all over the world to make friends
safely, without having to give away personal information, no small
feat in these days of worries about Internet safety for children.
The North County Humane Society granted $5,000 to A Girl’s
World to begin work on their latest collaboration: www.petsittingclass.com.
Petsittingclass.com is an online e-learning class that will educate
petsitters and owners in the art of giving a pet everything they
need to be healthy, safe and happy. The class will offer an easy,
effective and affordable way for young adults and grownups alike
to learn how to turn pet care skills into a moneymaking business
that is good for pets and brings peace of mind to pet owners.
After ten years, AGW has transformed from a four-page
hang out into an online magazine community. Our motto, “Do
it, Dream it, Be it,” expresses our accomplishment. By working
together, we’ve built a space where girls and teens truly
rule the web.
Contact: PUBLISHER KAREN WILLSON,
800-710-7437 or
editor@agirlsworld.com
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