Cassandra writes:
You might remember that I sent in a Feministe Feedback two months ago. If you don’t, the basic background is that I am a seventeen year old Canadian with a budding interest in feminism and human rights and nowhere to channel it. I began to read back in the archives of your blog to learn more and followed links and read. I eventually read about grassroots movements and so on. I reached out and networked with some girls at my all-girls Catholic school during a history class as we talked about race relations in North America. I learned a lot from them. We went to the administration to try to set up a “feminist club”, but we were rejected.
So we took our fights outside. We handed fliers outside off school property, and organized independent meetings across the Toronto Catholic District School Board. This March we organized events for Eating Disorder Awareness Week and raised $2,000 across Toronto for charity and granted bursaries from our donations to young girls who have experienced, struggled with or survived an eating disorder to help them with future education.
I know that this is, on a larger scale, quite small and probably just a drop in an ocean. But I wanted to thank you for helping me find my voice as a young feminist. I have started an internet blog and am currently heading a council made up of TCDSB students to provide a meeting and speaking space for young women to discuss and learn from each other.
That’s what we love to hear, Cassandra! Keep up the good work. And leave a link to your blog in comments so others can check it out.
UPDATE: Here’s the blog.
This is incredibly awesomely fantastic. I teach college, and I can’t tell you how many times I have wondered where the youthful anger and energy I remember feeling at their age has gone. I’m glad that it exists with Cassandra and her friends, and I hope it continues to grow! And by the way, I have never raised $2,000 for anything in my life, so I for one am definitely impressed.
That’s amazing! And, all in two months! You’re going to do many amazing things in your life, you’re starting young! Wish I started that young. Congrats and thanks for the update, motivation, inspiration, and hope.
dude, give the girl some frickin link love.
I will, when she gives me a link! It wasn’t included in the email.
Yay Cassandra!!!
Good for her!
I’d love to get her contact info as well. As a fellow young Torontonian I’m sure we could do a lot together.
I didn’t expect the e-mail to be posted! I just wanted to pass along the karma. I didn’t expect a response, even :O
Thanks again guys, what you guys are doing is providing a safe space for this type of growth and that is so invaluable.
Fantastic Cassandra! I too was a college student on a seemingly apathetic religious college campus. I was ostracized and formally reprimanded by my college administration for speaking on behalf of women. And it only made me stronger. Go for it – shout loudly and be proud. I’m proud of you!
Good for you!
It may be just drops in the ocean (or teaspoons, if you read Shakesville ;) ) but it adds up, so you should be proud of what you’re doing , no matter the scale.
Yay! Good work!
Wow! Congratulations and good on you for your dedication, determination and curiosity!
This is the sort of thing that warms the cockles of my heart. I don’t know exactly what a cockle is, and whether it is problematic to reference having them, but the Cassandras of the world make me very confident about the future of feminism.
I love hearing this kind of news! $2000 is no small accomplishment!
The $2000 felt small, but we had to do so much work to get it. We threw a party in a friends fathers resturants basement and had a cover fee. Someone brought guitar hero, we had a no alcohol rule, and we danced the night away for feminism! We got a free guest speaker for our school instead of a costly one, baked our asses off and sold them, and begged our parents for forwards on our allowance. We gave away four $500 prizes that went towards a charity of their choice or towards education. I want to do it again next year for sure.
EDIT: Er, we sold the baked goods, not our baked asses. Embarassing sentence structure ahoy.
Rock. The Hell. On.
Yeah!
That’s really amazing. I wish I had been that motivated about ANYTHING at that age. (Wow I sound old. I’m not, 23 is not old!) Go you! I’m so impressed.
That is a brilliant fund raiser.
Wow, that’s fantastic work! Go you!
Cassandra, I hope you know just how badass this is. Fucking fantastic!
You know, that is absolutely fucking incredible.
I will soon be a Torontonian again – I’d be totally into helping with future events. Good on you, Cassandra.
I’d love to get her contact info as well As a fellow young Torontonian I’m sure we could do a lot together.