Girls United’s board members are Treasurer Malani Del Rosario ’25, Secretary Eva Stamp ’25, club President Leah Murphy ’25 and Vice President Marissa Stadtmiller ’25 [left to right] Photo by: Freyja Palsdottir

Girls United is a safe space for VHS students 

One of the new clubs introduced in the 23-24 VHS school year is the Girls United club. The first meeting was held Nov. 6.

During club meetings, members discuss future service projects they hope to accomplish and activities they can put on at school to help bring students together. Currently, they are planning a baby clothing drive for mothers in need. 

Leah Murphy ‘25, is the president and founder of the Girls United club. The meeting takes place every Monday during lunch in room 105. Murphy said, “I started Girls United because I saw the need for a safe place for girls and anyone really to feel safe in. I wanted to help young girls feel comfortable and welcome into their communities in our city and around school, while doing community charity work for people in need. I think our club will be a great open-minded space for young activists, people of any gender or someone who just needs a community to be a part of. It is about empowering and creating a safe place for people in our school community, while giving back to the city through charity work.” 

Murphy said, “Honestly, it feels really scary. I am a very involved member in our school community and actually running a club that I created has to be one of the hardest things I’ve done in my high school career. I feel like this because this club is like my child and I want to do everything in my power to accomplish all our goals for the Girls United, to truly make an impact in our school and city. I hope this club can continue to live on after I graduate.” 

The vice president of the club Marissa Stadtmiller ‘25 said, “Our president, Leah Murphy, created this club and mentioned her idea to me and I was immediately excited and wanted to jump on board. I think it is such a beautiful way for girls at VHS to become connected with each other and reach out into the city. Our main mission is to create a safe space to share issues with a group of caring people as well as try to make a difference in our community and I think that something like this is so important for young people to have access to. We hope to continue this club next year and to gain new members so it can continue on after we [upper-classmen] graduate. Since we are relatively a new club, we have mostly focused on making our mission and goals for the future heard by all our members, but once we get more established we will hopefully start to coordinate several volunteer opportunities and start to speak on different issues we are experiencing within our school. I’d like to add that even though we’re called ‘Girls United,’ we are a club that is open to everyone.”