Links That Light Us Up

17th Edition

Hello Woman on Fire! Welcome to this week’s Links That Light Us Up. We’ve got dogs, dinner and everything in between this week. Without wasting anymore time, here we go!

Best Canine Costumes- It doesn’t get any cuter than this. These dogs of Instagram are ready for Halloween, so if you still need a costume idea breeze through this list that Mashable compiled.

@Manny_The_Frenchie on Instagram- Halloween ready pups via Mashable@Manny_The_Frenchie

Best Wine Flow- Have you ever wondered what the perfect red wine pairings are? Well look no further than this crafty Red-Wine flow chart that was created by the always creative Emily of cupcakes and cashmere.

Red Wine INFOgraphic from Cupcakes and Cashmerecupcakes and cashmere

 Best Comfort Food- As soon as fall emerges, so do our cravings for comfort food. This Sweet Potato Chicken Hash from Hungry Girl Por Vida looks so good we’re planning on making it for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Sweet Potato Chicken Hash via Hungry GIrl Por VidaHungry Girl Por Vida

Best New View on Education- Do you agree that kids should be in charge of what they want to learn? This article from Wired makes a very compelling case, and we would love to know what you think.

Radical New Teaching Methods via Wired

 Best Slippers- Want to know what it feels like to walk on clouds? Buy THESE immediately from Restoration Hardware. They may not be the cutest slippers ever made, but we think they are the most comfortable.

Slippers from Restoration Hardware

Best New Flick- We just saw Letters To Jackie and couldn’t have loved it more. If you enjoy the Kennedy family as much as we do, this is a must see!

 Best Facelift- Somewhere along the road feminism got a bad name. So 3 well known ad agencies have taken the movement on as client and are attempting a rebrand in conjunction with the magazine Elle UK. Below is just one of the pieces created, check out more here!

Rebranding FeminismBrave and Jinan Younis for Elle UK

 Best Life-Changing List- Buzzfeed has done it again, no explanation necessary 🙂

30 Life Changing Things That Are Worth Every Penny via BuzzfeedBuzzfeed

We hope you have a fantastic ending to your week and can’t wait to hear what you think of our links this week!

xox

The Women on Fire Team

 

Women and girls rising: let’s be “bad”

Last week we celebrated International Day of the Girl.  Were you as inspired as I was seeing the news coverage of Malala Yousafzai, the young Pakistani girl shot nearly dead by the Taliban simply because she championed the right for girls to be educated?

*This week’s Pinspiration*

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She survived. And less than a year after her ordeal, she is dazzling the world with her courage and her practical, loving approach to world peace.  In fact, even though she didn’t win, she was the youngest person ever nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize.

If you’ve yet to meet Malala, 16, please enjoy this interview with Jon Stewart. I can’t stop thinking about it.  Or put down her book I Am Malala.

Today I want to consider what we can do in this “dark hour of adversity” to help the astounding number of girls — 66 million worldwide — who should be in school but aren’t.

But first …

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Wise women in my life — Anne Gallagher and Trudy Taylor

No matter what scares me or how I feel on any day, I rise and shine because of the women in my life who cheer me on and lift me up day after day.  And that is my dream for you here, too, at Women on Fire.  And it is my wish for the millions of women who struggle in this world.

I’ve told you in the past about Anne Gallagher and Trudy Taylor, two very wise women I rely on for wisdom and support.

Anne is one of the biggest champions we have at Women on Fire, never missing an opportunity to tell her vast network of friends — and anyone she meets, really! — about us and the importance of supporting each other.

And, Trudy, 90, is the matriarch of the famous musical Taylor family (yup, James Taylor is her son).  Trudy always tells me, with a twinkle in her eye, to “be a bad girl!”  What this wise woman who has traveled the world and studied many cultures means is this: to be bad is to be big and bold and brave. To go beyond what is expected and to stand up for what is right.

Last week to celebrate International Day of the Girl, Women on Fire sponsored the powerful movie Girl Rising.  If you haven’t, you must see it to understand the dire plight of girls and women on this planet.

Some of the Women on Fire on Martha’s Vineyard who attended included Anne Gallagher, Ann Graham, Elaine Pace, Lara O’Brien, Daren Stinson, Wendy Taucher and Yvette Peterson along with many young school girls.

None of us, whether we were 8 or 80, walked away without being deeply touched and determined to stand up and reach out to change these harsh and alarming facts for the world’s women and girls:

1. 66 million girls are out of school globally.

2. There are 33 million fewer girls in school than boys.

3. A child born to a literate mother is 50% more likely to survive beyond age 5.

4. Every year, 150 million girls are victims of sexual violence. (50 percent are under age 15.)

5. 14 million girls under 18 will be married this year. That’s 38,000 child brides married today alone. 13 in the last 30 seconds.

6. The #1 cause of death for girls 15-19 in the world is childbirth.

7. Educated mothers are more than twice as likely to send their children to school.

8. A girl with an extra year of education can earn 20% more as an adult.

9. A girl on planet earth has a 1 in 4 chance of being born into poverty.

10. If India alone would enroll 1% more girls in secondary education, their GDP would raise by $5.5 billion.

The answer is not complex. The world’s girls must be educated.

We know that if a girl is educated, she can break the cycle of poverty in one generation. The Malala Fund and World Pulse, chaired by Woman on Fire Ellen Wingard are excellent organizations to explore how you might help as are the resources at Girl Rising.

This year, and for as long as it takes, I hope you will join me in working toward doing what you can, in whatever way you can, to help educate girls. At Women on Fire, we will be increasing our efforts to align with opportunities and causes that you can become involved in.

It’s time for all of us to be “bad.”  To bring light to this “dark hour of adversity.”

If Malala can stand up to the Taliban with a brave, courageous and spirited heart, and millions of women can survive the atrocities of their difficult lives, the least we can do — those of us who’ve never had to think twice about our education — is beam and blaze our love, support, expertise and financial means to our sisters in need.

Many of you already are giving incredible support to women and girls. I hope you will share your experiences and comments here on ways you’re involved so we can be inspired to do the same.

A rising tide truly lifts all boats on this one.