The room is filled with the buzz of chatter and excitement. Voices overlap as  ideas for the club’s next fundraiser are discussed, and each voice contributes  enthusiastically as officers and club members work together. Each face in the room  glows with the heartwarming passion that arises from the effort to give back- a principle  that lies at the heart of the club’s mission.

Tompkins’ Girl Up club is a chapter of the United Nations organization focused on  promoting girls’ welfare. The club focuses on achieving gender equality and providing  girls in developing countries with the chance to receive an education. Freshman Sulaim  Syeda works as the president of the chapter to host events and fundraisers to raise  money for the cause.

“I started Girl Up at Tompkins to help spread awareness to the injustice girls face  in developing countries,” said Syeda.

With her team of officers and sponsor Carmen Valdez, Syeda works to promote  Girl Up’s club and mission. They are currently working on the club’s first fundraiser to  kickstart the program.

“We hope to be able to contribute in a meaningful way,” said Syeda.

Syeda aspires to have a purposeful future for Girl Up. She is working to host three  to four activities for this semester, promote the club with flyers around the school and  hold meetings twice per month. The club also runs a website with updates about  fundraisers and other details. With their mission of promoting education in the spotlight,  the officers have avoided conflict to concentrate on promoting their cause.

“We have all been able to work together… on creating a successful club,” said  Syeda.

To raise awareness for Girl Up and its efforts to provide girls with education,  Syeda encourages all those who are interested to contact the club officers and join the  cause. Boys and girls alike are invited to promote this mission for education.

“We are an all-inclusive club, so anyone can join,” said Syeda. “I hope to see our  club prosper, gain lots of supporters, and be able to contribute significantly to the Girl  Up organization.”

Those who are interested can find more information on the chapter’s website:  http://clubs.girlup.org/clubs/home/3401​.