As I sit here, writing this article, my phone is pinging every other minute with a message, update, question or the occasional cute pet picture from the City Girl Network volunteer team. Today is a busy day, everyone is working hard on some last minute projects and events to highlight the conversation needed around women’s rights in light of the events of the past week- a monumental week, really. 

Megan Markle's open and honest interview where she shone a light on the racism she has experienced over the past few years, her decline in mental health, and not being allowed to seek help, or believed about this topic shone the first light on a discussion that was needed. The second, the murder of Sarah Everand, and the shocking statistic that 97% of women have at some point in their life been a victim of sexual harassment. 

It is a testament to the 210 women who currently make up our volunteer team that when I broached the subject of pushing forward plans to launch a women’s campaigning volunteer team (a dream of mine, and City Girl Network Founder and CEO, Pippa, for many years) in light of the need to shout out as loud as we can about these subjects while the UK is listening, I was completely overwhelmed my the sheer number and passion of those who stepped forward to help. 

When I have been thinking this week about what I would like to write to mark our 4th Birthday as a network, highlighting the incredible impact our network has had on the lives of those who call themselves City Girls was of course at the forefront of my mind. 

Our core aim has and always will be to provide a safe and welcoming space for women to come together and make new friends. My own story of connecting with Pippa 3 years ago highlights just how powerful this network can be. 3 years on and she is a soul sister for life, I love her incredibly, and we are running this amazing network together. 

We run the risk, as women, of appearing to brag when we shout out ourselves and the things we are working on. But in the wise words of Stephanie Sword-Williams, F*ck being humble. 

We have brought together 35,000 women across 18 cities. We have helped women form friendships that will last a lifetime, find travel companions (and we will do again!), safe places to live, housemates, jobs and safeguarding support. Women have come to us in their happiest moments to celebrate their wins, and in their darkest moments not knowing who else to turn to. 

Through our volunteering scheme, we have offered training and experience, CV proofreading, interview prep, reference requests and been able to celebrate our volunteers gaining new jobs off the back of that. I do a happy dance every time someone leaves us or drops down their hours because they have stepped through the door of their dream career. 

Not everyone who volunteers is here to gain that experience though- many give a few hours of their time a week just because they love the network. There is a hug due to each and every one of them, that I can’t wait to give them once we are allowed to travel again. 

The level of sheer love, support and kindness that our members and volunteers have constantly leave me in awe. To know we have left a mark on the world (a little kind kiss for now, though we have plans to ignite a fire!), and that, especially through this past year when loneliness and isolation was overwhelming for many, we have made a difference in the lives of our members- it is an amazing feeling. 

The list to thank each and every one of you who has helped us reach this stage is far too vast, whether it’s been a share on your social media, a few hours of your time volunteering, lending your expertise to us, your venue space, putting us in touch with potential partners, speakers, thought leaders- we are, and always will be, eternally grateful. 

“I don’t have the time to volunteer but I really want to help out/ support you, what can I do?” It was a question that landed in my inbox a few weeks ago. Friendship should always be free. We will never charge you for making friends, meaning our community spaces and City groups will always be free to access. But there are ways you can help us out, that we definitely don’t shout out about enough.

Imposter syndrome? Fear of being seen to be ‘asking for money’? Not being able to confidently assign a worth to the events and content we provide? Worrying about spamming? What long time members will think? I’m sure there is some psychology behind why we feel we can’t reach out to you to let you know there are many ways you can help us out, to keep our cities running and growing. 

You can become a patreon! (and watch an exclusive happy birthday video from Pippa with some secret news!) For £2 or £3 a month, you will receive behind the scenes notes from myself and Pippa, as well as be the first to hear about new plans, form our focus groups for new ideas and in the £3 option, also receive 10% off our ticketed events. There is also a £4 a month option for Brighton Girls that also includes a Brighton Girl badge! You can find more information and sign up here!

Purchase a badge! If you're a Brighton Girl and want to get your hands on a badge but can’t commit to signing up to become a Patreon, you can also buy it here in our shop. We can’t wait to roll out more badges for our other cities too! 

Attend our ticketed events! Every few months we host online (for now!) ticketed network wide events, if you haven’t already, sign up to our newsletter here, that will let you know when these events are happening and how to sign up! 

Tell your company about us! We love working with businesses to get the word out to our city girls, especially if our ethos of community, women’s rights, and eco-lifestyle aligns with theirs. We have content packages for marketing, event sponsorship opportunities as well as city wide community sponsorship and partnership opportunities. This is how we keep our communities a free space! They can get in touch with us here. 

Follow us on social media! You can follow our Facebook Page where we share network updates, great articles from out magazine and beyond, and highlight City Girls achievements. You can also follow us on Twitter here, Instagram here and many of our cities also have their own Instagram too: Brighton, London, Manchester, Cardiff, Milton Keynes, Leeds, York, Newcastle. 

Today, to celebrate our birthday in lieu of being able to celebrate in person with you all (have no fear, post lockdown events are being organised behind the scenes as we speak!) Pippa is going to be on Instagram stories all day, so make sure you pop over and say hi, listen in on the IGTV lives and share what City Girl Network means to you. 

I can’t wait to see where our network is in a year, let alone another 4 years. Happy Birthday City Girl Network! 

Rachael xx