NEW YORK (March 27, 2019) — Singer and CARE Ambassador Rita Angel Taylor (RAT) released her debut song “For My Girls” this month — complete with an International Women’s Day flash mob performance at the new FAO Schwarz in New York — to benefit the poverty-fighting organization CARE and its monthlong campaign to Make #March4Women.
“The spirit of the song and the spirit of CARE are so similar,” the 11-year-old entertainer known as RAT said. “I sing about how we girls ‘pick each other up when things go wrong.’ CARE does that all over the world, helping women and girls facing some of the toughest conditions on earth.”
All March proceeds from ‘For My Girls’ help fund CARE’s poverty-fighting work, such as the girls’ education projects RAT visited in Peru last month. Just 4 downloads can buy a girl a textbook. And 33 downloads can send a girl to school for a year.
Shoppers at FAO Schwarz in Manhattan were treated to a surprise performance of the song on International Women’s Day. RAT, singing atop the floor piano featured in the movie ‘Big,’ was surrounded by a flash mob of dancers wearing CARE t-shirts, as captured on video here.
The song’s release is part of CARE’s action-packed, monthlong campaign called Make #March4Women. The campaign has featured: videos of celebrities honoring their heroes; a shareable quiz whereby people learn who their ‘sister hero’ is; a public opinion poll called What Women Want Now; and powerful stories of women and girls whose heroic efforts too often go unnoticed around the world.
In February RAT was able to meet some of these inspirational women and girls while visiting Lambayeque, Peru, part of a region where 6 out of 10 girls don’t finish high school. CARE helps girls stay in school by providing them with the tools to excel, including financial training, health education and planning for their futures. In too many communities, girls are forced into early marriage or child labor, or must stay home to handle domestic duties and chores.
“In Peru I met girls who have to walk up to five hours to get to school,” RAT said. “It’s a journey that jeopardizes their safety and well-being. I want a world where all girls have an opportunity to finish school and chase their dreams, without facing extreme barriers to education.”
RAT also joined more than 30 actors, musicians, athletes and TV personalities participating in CARE’s #HerInHERO social media campaign, anchored by a flagship video also featuring CARE’s “unsung heroes” from around the world. CARE asked people to share who, in their lives, puts the “Her in Hero.” The response has been incredible, and people can still join the conversation by posting a photo or video of their hero. Learn more at fight.care.org.
“I met the world’s true superheroes in Peru,” RAT said. “I got to know a 13-year-old girl named Nelly who aspires to be a nurse one day so she can give back to her community and Valeria, who wants to be a professional singer one day, just like me. I came away feeling like despite our differences, we’re really so similar.”
About CARE: Founded in 1945 with the creation of the CARE Package®, CARE is a leading humanitarian organization fighting global poverty. CARE places special focus on working alongside poor girls and women because, equipped with the proper resources, they have the power to lift whole families and entire communities out of poverty. Last year CARE worked in 95 countries and reached more than 56 million people around the world. To learn more about CARE and our FIGHT WITH CARE® campaign, visit fight.care.org.
Media contacts: Nicole Ellis, nicole.ellis@care.org, 202-560-1791; and Brian Feagans, bfeagans@care.org, 404-457-4644
Video and photos: The full video and photos from the performance are available upon request, as well as photos and b-roll from RAT’s visit to Peru.