Much ado is made about creating opportunities for underserved girls and teens to gain skills and confidence, and for a good reason. “Compared with men, women don’t consider themselves as ready for promotions, they predict they’ll do worse on tests, and they generally underestimate their abilities. This disparity stems from factors ranging from upbringing to biology.” Reported Katty Kay and Claire Shipman in their fascinating and dismaying piece “The Confidence Gap” forThe Atlantic in 2014.

Keren Taylor hopes to change that.

“When I moved to L.A. and was laid off my dot com job, I thought ‘What am I going to do with myself?’” Says Taylor, the Founder and Executive Director of WriteGirl. “I decided I wanted to put my entire life’s energy into creating an organization that would help girls develop writing, communication skills, and confidence.”

To date, WriteGirl has accomplished that and much more. Through their system of pairing underserved teenage girls with experienced professional writers in one-on-one mentorship relationships, one hundred percent of program attendees have gone on to college, often with scholarships. That fact is made even more remarkable when contrasted against Los Angeles’ high school dropout rate, which hovers around fifty percent.

Visit their website to learn more about what WriteGirl does or to donate.

Image courtesy WriteGirl