I AM THAT GIRL

Back in May, I posted a book review of Alexis Jones’ I AM THAT GIRL.

However, IATG isn’t just an amazing book. It’s also the name of the nonprofit organization Alexis started with her friend Emily Greener.

IATG is a community, a support system, and a movement inspiring girls to LOVE, EXPRESS, and BE who they are.

When I first found out about the organization back in 2013, I knew I wanted to be involved.

I heard Alexis speak at the Invisible Children Fourth Estate Leadership Summit and was blown away by her insight.

She’s so conscious of her actions and how they affect other people. It’s inspiring.

One of my friends, Alyssa, became an intern for the nonprofit after the Summit, so I asked her how to get involved. She told me to start an IATG: Local chapter in my community.

Woah woah woah, I thought. That’s quite a commitment, and I don’t know if I have the time for that. Plus, who the heck would I invite? I didn’t have a big group of friends where I was living.

But I decided to start one anyway, because if I needed this community, I knew others in my area would, too.

I’m proud to be the leader of my local I AM THAT GIRL chapter. We get together once per month and talk about issues facing us personally and women as a whole.

It’s a safe space for us to talk about things that are bothering us, things we’re excited about, and things giving us anxiety.

Starting out, the women who came to meetings knew me from work or college. I thought I had known them really well, but it turns out our friendships had only scratched the surface. We have a much deeper friendship now that we have a safe place to talk about our lives.

We all get along amazingly, and we’re growing our own little community.

I’m now getting emails from other women in my area who have heard about IATG (usually through Sophia Bush, because she’s amazing) and want to be involved.

I’ve never met them before, and if it hadn’t been for Alexis and Emily and their brilliant idea to collaborate rather than compete, we never would have had the opportunity.

I strongly encourage anyone reading this to get involved, whether it’s with IATG or another organization. Do something positive for yourself and your community. You won’t regret it.

Oh, I’m also a guest blogger for I AM THAT GIRL. You can check out some of my posts here, here, here, and here.