1,000 Dreams Fund and Partners Celebrate International Day of the Girl 2019 By Announcing Inaugural 'MentorHER Day'

Events in Four Cities Nationwide in Fall 2019 Will Match Young Women with Mentors for Live Mentoring Sessions

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Oct 08, 2019, 06:00 ET

WASHINGTON, Oct. 8, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- In celebration of the International Day of the Girl, 1,000 Dreams Fund (1DF), a national nonprofit that provides microgrants that support the dreams of talented young women in need, is launching a national initiative to help raise awareness about the importance of female mentorship. MentorHER Day will kick off on the International Day of the Girl with a series of events designed to help the advancement of women in the workplace.

According to 1DF's "State of the American Girl"™ research, 70 percent of young American women don't have a mentor. With MentorHER Day, 1DF—in keeping with its ongoing commitment to mentor and support young women in collaboration with established professionals and its partners—is working to change that.

"We know from our research and ongoing work in this space that most young women would love to have a mentor, but they have no idea where to start," says 1,000 Dreams Fund founder and CEO, Christie Garton. "With our microgrants, we've proven that even a small amount of financial support can make a big impact. The same holds true for time and mentorship. We are asking our volunteer professional mentors to donate 60 minutes of their time to mentoring one of our outstanding young women for a high-impact mentor session."

MentorHER Day events seek to prove that it does not take a significant amount of time or resources to make a difference in a young woman's life. Events will be held in four U.S. cities this fall and will grow to additional cities throughout 2020. Each event will start with a networking session, followed by a panel comprised of a diverse group of leading female executives. Attendees will connect with their matched mentor for a live "MentorHER" session.

Panelists are leaders selected from a variety of sectors, and include:

Lindsay Baker, Vice President of Sustainability and Wellbeing, WeWork
Megan Bloomer, Vice President of Sustainability & CSR, The CheesecakeFactory Incorporated; Founder and CEO of RAMSHEAD Inc.
Arthi Chandran, Vice President, Health Economics and Outcomes Research, Becton Dickinson
Mimi Li, Head of ML & Risk Products, Amazon Prime
Janai Nelson, Associate Director-Counsel, NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund
Dr. Maria Emanuel Ryan, DDS, PhD, Vice President and Chief Dental Officer, Colgate-Palmolive Company
Andrea Short, Vice President & Deputy General Counsel, Verizon Public Sector
Anastasia Staten, Executive Director of the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) Foundation
Danielle Wivell-Wagner, Operations Manager, The Malala Fund
Priscilla Zhou, Director, Public Affairs – Corporate Affairs & Communications, HARMAN

Colgate-Palmolive and Kendra Scott are national sponsors of MentorHER Day, along with WeWork, which is hosting the events and helping recruit mentors from their membership network in each city.

In partnership with 1DF, Colgate will be implementing an ongoing virtual mentorship program to connect its employees nationwide with the young women that 1DF serves as part of its commitment to MentorHER Day 2019.

"Colgate is proud to be part of the inaugural MentorHER Day to demonstrate the tremendous value of building networks and mentoring relationships," said Paula Davis, Chief Communications Officer, Colgate-Palmolive Company. "We are grateful to 1DF for inviting our Chief Dental Officer Dr. Maria Emanuel Ryan to serve on its panel in Washington, and equally proud that Colgate employees have signed on to become mentors to future women leaders."

Kendra Scott is providing all MentorHER Day panelists with a gift from the Kendra Scott jewelry line and is also matching employees with 1DF students for ongoing mentoring sessions as part of their commitment.

"We could not be more thrilled to support 1DF and MentorHER Day," said Tom Nolan, Chief Marketing and Revenue Officer, Kendra Scott. "The initiative's mission is in line with our ongoing support for, and celebration of, women in business. Our brand has always been inspired by experiences and sense of community, and mentoring is just that—a powerful way to connect one on one while also building relationships within a larger group of supportive women."

HARMAN, the initiative's supporting partner, is a long-time 1DF supporter and proponent of helping women in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math (STEAM) succeed. As part of HARMAN's quest to help advance young women in tech, executives from the company will mentor promising young women 1:1 through 1DF's New Face of Tech Scholarship Program, which launches later this year. This is the third consecutive year that HARMAN has supported the program, which grants thousands in scholarship funds each year to inspiring young women in technical fields of study.

About 1,000 Dreams Fund's 2019 Inaugural MentorHER Day

How it works: 1DF puts a call out for mentors in the cities with MentorHER Day events. At the same time, they initiate a call for mentees (see application info at the link below). Finally, they make the perfect match, using results from a custom questionnaire provided to both parties.
How to apply: Students interested in matched with a mentor at an upcoming MentorHER Day event should apply here. The deadline for our upcoming events in Houston and Dallas is Friday, November 1. Applicants will be notified of their match on a rolling basis. Learn more about the program here.
Who can apply: Women in the U.S. who are current high school, college or community college students.
Event dates:
- Washington, D.C. – WeWork Navy Yard, Wednesday, October 9, 6-8pm EST
- San Francisco, CA – WeWork Golden Gate, Thursday, October 10, 4-6pm PST
- Dallas, TX – WeWork Williams Square, Thursday, November 21, 4-6pm CST
- Houston, TX – WeWork at The Jones Building, Thursday, November 7, 4-6pm CST

Media contact:

Jennifer Toone Corrigan, In Toone Communication
Cell: 401-258-8830
[email protected]

About the 1,000 Dreams Fund
The 1,000 Dreams Fund (1DF) is a national scholarship fund for American girls in high school and college. 1DF believes that big expenses should never stand in the way of big dreams. Since its launch in November 2015, over $200,000 in funding has been granted to talented young women in need, helping them pay for the "extras" in school like study abroad, tech devices for the classroom and travel to conferences and seminars. 1DF has been featured on Cheddar TV, NBCNews.com, USA Today, MarketWatch, Forbes, Huffington Post, Chicago Tribune, Entrepreneur, TODAY and others. To learn more about 1DF, visit http://1000dreamsfund.org/

About Colgate-Palmolive
Colgate-Palmolive is a leading global consumer products company, focused on Oral Care, Personal Care, Home Care and Pet Nutrition. With more than 34,000 people and its products sold in over 200 countries and territories, Colgate is known for household names such as Colgate, Palmolive, elmex, Tom's of Maine, Sorriso, Speed Stick, Lady Speed Stick, Softsoap, Irish Spring, Protex, Sanex, Filorga, eltaMD, PCA Skin, Ajax, Axion, Fabuloso, Soupline and Suavitel, as well as Hill's Science Diet and Hill's Prescription Diet. The company is also recognized for its leadership and innovation in promoting environmental sustainability and community wellbeing, including its achievements in saving water, reducing waste, promoting recyclability and improving the oral health of children through its Bright Smiles, Bright Futures program, which has reached more than one billion children since 1991. For more information about Colgate's global business and how the company is building a future to smile about, visit http://www.colgatepalmolive.com.

About HARMAN
HARMAN (harman.com) designs and engineers connected products and solutions for automakers, consumers, and enterprises worldwide, including connected car systems, audio and visual products, enterprise automation solutions; and services supporting the Internet of Things. With leading brands including AKG®, Harman Kardon®, Infinity®, JBL®, Lexicon®, Mark Levinson® and Revel®, HARMAN is admired by audiophiles, musicians and the entertainment venues where they perform around the world. More than 50 million automobiles on the road today are equipped with HARMAN audio and connected car systems. Our software services power billions of mobile devices and systems that are connected, integrated and secure across all platforms, from work and home to car and mobile. HARMAN has a workforce of approximately 30,000 people across the Americas, Europe, and Asia. In 2017, HARMAN became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.

About Kendra Scott
Kendra Scott is a leading fashion accessories brand inspired by the personal experiences, travel and sense of community of its CEO and designer, Kendra Scott. With over 2,000 employees, Kendra Scott has over 100 standalone stores across the US and is sold in premiere retailers including Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, Bloomingdale's and 600 specialty boutiques worldwide and boasts a thriving web business. Kendra Scott is known for its kaleidoscope of beautiful accessories as well as the innovative and customizable Color Bar™ experience. As the brand continues to grow, the company remains true to its founding philosophy of "Family, Fashion, Philanthropy" and since 2010, the company has given back well over $30 million to local, national and international causes.

SOURCE 1,000 Dreams Fund