• by Tanya Gazdik , October 21, 2011

Dove is asking women “Who Inspired You?” in a promotion that is part of the Unilever-owned company’s ongoing effort focusing on beauty as a source of confidence, not anxiety.

Dove will donate $1 to Girls Inc. for every answer received. Women can share their stories, and reflect on who has made a difference in their lives, on Facebook.com/Dove and on Dove.com. The promotion runs through Oct. 31 and Dove will donate up to $100,000. In addition to the $100,000, Dove is making a flat donation of $200,000 to Girls Inc. in 2011 for U.S. self-esteem programming.

Grammy Award-nominated singer Natasha Bedingfield, Olympian Julie Foudy and Dove Global Self-Esteem Ambassador Jess Weiner will join women nationwide for Second Annual Dove Self-Esteem Weekend Oct. 21-23. The weekend’s events are part of a year-round effort that prompts adult women to help make a difference in a girl's self-esteem. Women are asked to commit to spending one hour with a girl in their life to help the next generation develop a positive relationship with beauty.

Last year, thousands of women and girls came together to participate in the first-ever Dove Self-Esteem Weekend and launch the Dove Movement for Self-Esteem. This year, Dove national partners Girls Inc., Girl Scouts of the U.S.A., and Boys & Girls Clubs of America, as well as other organizations and individuals, will help bring the weekend to life through thousands of events nationwide that bring together women and girls.

Women can share their plans for the weekend, or locate a public event in their area, on the interactive Dove Facebook map. The map shows where events are taking place and will serve as a visual representation of the reach of this effort.

Dove kicked off the weekend in New York with Bedingfield, Foudy, Weiner and members of the Greater New York Council of the Girl Scouts, who participated in an honest discussion about issues affecting girls' self-esteem. The event included a songwriting exercise to encourage girls to celebrate real beauty, and provided girls with the opportunity to talk about setting goals.

As part of the ongoing, year-round campaign, women can download a badge to show their support for building self-esteem in girls and provide their communities with direct access to the Dove Self-Esteem toolkit. The badge is available at www.dove.com.

Individuals also can download free self-esteem building tools and activities to inspire a girl in their life by visiting Dove.com. These free resources include a new conversation guide regarding online behavior called "A Girl's Guide to the Digital World -- How to Log Off of Digital Drama." The guide aims to help girls maintain positive self-esteem. The Dove brand has also compiled a tip sheet with recommendations from Dove communities on Facebook and Twitter on how to build self-esteem in girls.

Dove started a global conversation about the need for a wider definition of beauty with its “Campaign for Real Beauty.” The findings of a global study in 2004 revealed that only 2% of women considered themselves beautiful. Dove efforts have moved the needle since then, but there is more work to be done. Dove global research shows that anxiety about looks begins at an early age, as 72% of girls say they feel tremendous pressure to be beautiful. Furthermore, when girls feel bad about their looks, 60% disconnect from life, avoiding normal daily activities like attending school or even giving their opinion.

The company has reached more than eight million girls so far with self-esteem programs, says Rob Candelino, marketing director, Dove U.S., Unilever. The goal is to reach 15 million girls by 2014, he adds.