The Detroit News Opinion: Every Woman Can Have An Impact

Women’s History Month, celebrated during March, is a reminder of all the progress that’s been made in recognizing the accomplishments of women and girls. Women’s empowerment and success are at all-time highs.

But there is still impactful, less self-promotional work being done by women and girls with unique stories, life experiences and talents that doesn’t get the deserved recognition or support.

Detroiter Kate Milligan has set out to change that and is making waves. 

In 2018, she launched 1 Girl Revolution, a nonprofit multimedia organization that highlights the work of women and girls who are making a difference — and the stories of what got them there.

Last week, Milligan was a guest on ABC’s The Kelly Clarkson Show. That followed 1 Girl Revolution’s flagship charity event held at The Congregation in Detroit earlier in March.

Milligan has produced two documentaries, one of which was nominated for an Emmy.

And she’s nearing her 250th podcast episode highlighting the work of girls and women who have met a need at scale — typically without government help.

“The majority of 1 Girls have not received government funding,” Milligan says. “Their stories are very similar to mine. When I first had the idea for 1 Girl, a lot of people were like ‘oh raise $100,000 and then do the thing,’ and I was like, I don’t know how to raise 100 grand so I’m just gonna to go do it and figure it out.”

The gritty and resilient personality of Detroit itself was part of Milligan’s inspiration for 1GR, along with the phrases in its flag she uncovered while reading a book about the city: “We hope for better things” and “It will rise from the ashes.”

Detroit area women and their organizations make up roughly 30 of Milligan’s podcasts, including Amy Peterson and her organization Rebel Nell, which teaches and employs women transitioning out of homelessness making jewelry out of graffiti paint chips that have fallen off walls in Detroit. 

Milligan has also highlighted the work of Jennifer Jackson, who runs the DRE Project, a nonprofit that delivers home-cooked meals and groceries to individuals and families in need. It grew out of delivering meals during COVID lockdowns.

Sherelle Hogan, whose parents were both incarcerated when she was a child, began Pure Heart Foundation, which has helped more than 2,500 children of incarcerated parents with scholarships, jobs, counseling and finding a community of understanding.

“The majority of these women and organizations just saw a need and they started answering the need and then it became a nonprofit,” Milligan says. “They didn’t even necessarily seek that out. They’re just doing what they feel they’re supposed to do.”

After moving back to Detroit from Washington, D.C., where she worked in PR, Milligan felt discouraged by the politicization of media covering women. She saw a lack of positive, empathetic stories about their lives and work, specifically of those who had overcome adversity.

“I wanted to do something to shine a light on that,” Milligan says. “That’s how 1 Girl Revolution started. We’re shining lights on the marginalized, forgotten about, ignored stories, people and populations.”

Milligan has featured individuals who have started nonprofits or similar organizations focused on myriad needs — from the growing number of women today facing incarceration, to housing insecurity, to food insecurity, to menstrual product insecurity, to helping families with premature babies and dozens of other topics.

She has featured an 11-year-old who has started a nonprofit with her family to deliver essentials to families with children with cancer who have long hospital stays. She has also highlighted other young girls — as young as 5 — who are making an impact. 

Milligan hopes by sharing the stories of these women and their work, they can get more support and inspire others to take the same small actions to meet a need — and see how it grows.

“I just want to know who you are, what makes you you, and what are you doing to change the world right now — and how can we all support it?” Milligan says. “That to me is so refreshing and so needed.”

This piece was first published by The Detroit News.