#GirlsAre Returns to Inspire Girls and Women Across the United States to Celebrate Their Athleticism and Strength

(NEW YORK) May 15, 2017 – Girls today in the United States are far less likely than boys to achieve the recommended amounts of physical activity. By age 14, girls are dropping out of sports at two times the rate of boys. In an effort to inspire girls and women to continue to be physically active, the Alliance for a Healthier Generation and the Clinton Foundation are joining forces for a second year to shine a spotlight on the disparities between girls’ and boys’ physical activity rates and inspire a new generation of strong, active women.

“Data shows that across the United States, less than 50% of middle school girls get the recommended amount of physical activity each day,” says Chelsea Clinton, Vice Chair of the Clinton Foundation and Board Member of the Alliance for a Healthier Generation.  “Why does this matter? This gap in physical activity results in fewer opportunities for girls to develop critical teamwork, confidence, and leadership skills that will help them thrive throughout their lives– as well as to be physically healthy.”

Building off the success of its first year, the #GirlsAre campaign demonstrates the myriad ways girls show their strength using the hashtag #GirlsAre, and encourages supporters to sign the pledge to celebrate girls’ athleticism and to write an empowering note to your younger, athletic self. Launching today and running through June 4th, the campaign coincides with National Physical Fitness & Sports Month in May.

The #GirlsAre campaign is bringing together more than 40 non-profit and media partners, as well as celebrity voices to inspire a new generation of strong, active women.

Media partners for #GirlsAre include Fatherly, Refinery29, and Woman’s Day.

Campaign partners include AdCap, Afterschool Alliance, After-School All-Stars, American Heart Association, Baseball for All, BOOST Collaborative, Boys and Girls Club for Greater Houston, Cage Cricket USA, Women of Character (WOC) of Carl Sandburg College, Changing the Game Project, ChildObesity180, Coach Cam, Duval County Medical Society Foundation (NEFL), Fuel Up to Play 60, GENYOUth, Girl Scouts of the USA, Girls on the Run International, INEOS ICAN Foundation, JJ’s I'm Me Foundation, LA84 Foundation, Lakeshore Foundation, Laureus Sport for Good Foundation USA, National Afterschool Association, National Farm to School Network, National Fitness Foundation, National Girls Collaborative Project, National Recreation and Park Association, Play Like a Girl, Safe Routes to Schools National Partnership, Salud America, Sportime featuring SPARK, Sports & Arts in Schools Foundation, Texas A&M School of Public Health, The First Tee, The KenKou Group, The OrganWise Guys, Tony Hawk Foundation, Up2Us Sports, Voices for Healthy Kids, the Wasserman Foundation, Women’s Sports Foundation, YMCA of Greater Houston and YWCA Chicago

Influential voices include Hilaria Baldwin, Joy Bauer, Wade Davis, Kaliya Johnson, Becca Myers, Megan Rapinoe, Rachael Ray, Allison Stokke and Abby Wambach.

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About the Alliance for a Healthier Generation
The Alliance for a Healthier Generation empowers kids to develop lifelong healthy habits by ensuring the environments that surround them provide and promote good health. More than 25 million children have been helped by the Alliance’s work with schools, communities and businesses across the country. Make a difference at HealthierGeneration.org and join us on Facebook and Twitter.

About the Clinton Foundation
The Clinton Foundation convenes businesses, governments, NGOs, and individuals to improve global health and wellness, increase opportunity for girls and women, reduce childhood obesity, create economic opportunity and growth, and help communities address the effects of climate change. Because of our work, nearly 35,000 American schools have provided kids with healthy food choices in an effort to eradicate childhood obesity; more than 150,000 farmers in Malawi, Rwanda, and Tanzania are benefiting from climate-smart agronomic training, higher yields, and increased market access; working with partners, more than 8.5 million trees and tree seedlings have been planted to strengthen ecosystems and livelihoods; over 600,000 people have been impacted through market opportunities created by social enterprises and health and wellbeing programs in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia, and Africa; through the independent Clinton Health Access Initiative, over 11.5 million people in more than 70 countries have access to CHAI-negotiated prices for HIV/AIDS medications; an estimated 85 million people in the U.S. will be reached through strategic health partnerships developed across industry sectors at both the local and national level; and members of the Clinton Global Initiative community have made more than 3,600 Commitments to Action, which have improved the lives of over 435 million people in more than 180 countries.

Learn more at http://www.clintonfoundation.org, on Facebook at Facebook.com/ClintonFoundation and on Twitter @ClintonFdn.