Petoskey Middle School friends who attended Meg Wilson’s birthday party brought donations for the Women’s Resource Center of Northern Michigan (WRCNM) Safe Home, instead of traditional birthday gifts and plan to continue their efforts to help women and girls.  Pictured presenting the donation is (L to R) Brianna Kimbler, Kennedy Buck, Kendra Shaw, Jenny Tompkins, Meg Wilson, and Natalie Koeller with Chris Krajewski, WRCNM Domestic Abuse and Sexual Assault Program Director.  Missing from photo are Jessica Edwards and Shannon Cartwright.

If you think teen girls only talk about clothes, shopping and boys; these local girls will change your mind.  The close-knit friends who attend Petoskey Middle School discuss everything from books to the Holocaust to women's rights.  Recently they gathered at the Safe Home operated by the Women’s Resource Center of Northern Michigan (WRCNM) to donate cash and personal care items for survivors of domestic abuse.

The donation is the result of a no-gift birthday party for one of the friends in the group, Meg Wilson. The girls had all decided it would be a great idea to forego traditional birthday gifts for something more meaningful.  The idea got these energetic and articulate young women thinking about how they could make a further difference; one that might help women and girls dealing with gender inequality, sexism, and even domestic abuse, sexual assault and dating violence.

So what's a girl to do?  They plan to move forward with an organization called, "The Women of the Future, Helping the Women of Today."  One of their goals is to build awareness of the group