Empowerment, promoting gender equality and providing a safe space to discuss women’s rights are the founding tenants of GirlUp, a CHS local chapter of the worldwide initiative. Now in its second year, CHS alumni Elisa Haddenbrock '22 worked with faculty member Sarah Janiga last year to start the club dedicated to this mission.
Junior Carrie Keibler, the club's 2022-23 president, feels the club is an important addition to Copley High School. "I have a lot of passion to continue Girl Up at Copley High School in order to recognize the amazing actions that women all over the world take. Growing up, I was exposed to strong, capable women like my mom, sister, teachers, and friends; however, they were not always given the recognition they deserved. Girl Up provides an opportunity to educate students about different topics such as women's health, history, rights, and other topics that society does not talk about openly or frequently enough. I wanted to create a community where all students feel safe and welcome to talk about any topic, especially defeating gender norms.
This year, the club created period product baskets in the CHS restrooms to make products free and accessible to students. In January, Girl Up members organized a period drive in which they collected period products for the local Haven of Rest shelter. Club members also watched and discussed a short documentary called "Period. End of Sentence" which addresses the stigma of menstruation in rural India and how women are countering it.
GirlUp kicked off Women's History Month with a meeting in which Carrie reviewed past and present inspiring women and then members played BINGO to review what they learned. The students made locker signs featuring inspirational women and quotes for members to display this month.
