Galvanized by the poverty and oppression she witnessed against girls worldwide, Sejal Hathi founded Girls Helping Girls at age 15 to empower all girls to become social change agents and solve the problems plaguing their communities. Although it started as an organization run by one girl and her dream for peace, Girls Helping Girls has since grown into an international organization engaging thousands of girls from all over the world. As a team of four, we began fundraising by trekking from home to home advocating our cause, but now we have raised over $30,000 to support our initiatives.

Sejal serves on Youth Service America's National Board of Directors and National Youth Council; with YSA, Sejal has helped organize and implement several grant programs and national conferences, and co-authored a monograph on engaging at-risk youth in service. She additionally serves as a Board member on State Farm's Youth Advisory Board, which works to distribute $5 million to organizations across North America addressing disaster preparedness, access to higher education, environmental responsibility, driver safety, and financial education.

She is a longtime member on Girls for A Change's National Board of Directors to increase opportunities for girls to serve in the United States, and is a USA Ambassador for Ashoka's Youth Venture, in which role she works to build a culture of entrepreneurship for all youth. Sejal is also the Treasurer of the World Bank's Youth, Development, and Peace Network of North America, working to create greater opportunities for young people to work with the World Bank in international development.

For her efforts, she has received many awards recognizing her work. Most recently, Sejal was selected for CNN's Young People Who Rock and was recognized as a 2009 Presidential Scholar, a National Coca-Cola Scholar, a Nestle Very Best in Youth, an ElleGirl Teen Hero, and a Comcast Hometown Hero, and received the national first-place Principal's Leadership Award, The Spirit of Anne Frank Outstanding Scholarship Award, and the Girls Inc. Women Who Dare Award. In 2007, Sejal was named a We Are Family Foundation Global Teen Leader, and received the President's Call to Service Award. And in 2008, Sejal received Soroptimist International's First Place Violet Richardson Award, the Silicon Valley 'It Girl' Award, Think MTV/ Taco Bell Foundation's Teen Hero Award, and Kohl's Kids Who Care Award. She was named a Staples Youth Social Entrepreneur Competition Finalist and was selected in 2008 with 9 other youth from over 20,000 applicants to receive Discover Card's Tribute Scholarship Award.

But what we really believe is that you are the heroes: we are here to help you make a difference and transform your world!

All girls can transform their world, if only given the power and opportunity. Our organization and project, Sisters 4 Peace, gives girls this power, the knowledge and the resources, to make their vision for the world a reality.

Visit our Accomplishments page to learn more about our initiatives and what we are doing!