Style Her Empowered

Note: You're about to read the 200th issue of Godspeed. That feels like celebrating, right? Oh, and also a reminder: Tomorrow I'm headed into the body shop to get a new shoulder installed, so I'll be out of action for a few weeks. That's why I've been doubling up on issues for the last month. Hopefully, that will tide you over for a bit. Of course, I might one-handed hunt-and-peck out something before then. You just never know. 🤷‍♂️ Okay, let's jump into it.

The Dress That Grows

I’m fortunate 'cuz I have the coolest friends.  Take Payton McGriff, for example.

I first got on Payton’s bandwagon – yup, a big fan – when she was a newly minted graduate of the University of Idaho back in 2017.  She had an idea for a product, and a company – Style Her Empowered (SHE) – and she wanted it to be a social enterprise.

And this year that idea was lauded by TIME magazine as one of the best inventions of 2026.

Here’s what TIME had to say about her invention, a school uniform for girls in Africa:

“The cost of school uniforms can still keep girls in parts of Africa out of the classroom, especially given how quickly they outgrow them. So, Payton McGriff designed a uniform that expands, with adjustable ties along the side of the dress that allow for give across the chest and waist, and hidden seams at the hem that can be let out to add up to a foot in length. Now distributed across Togo through McGriff’s nonprofit, SHE (Style Her Empowered), the dresses last about three years, compared with up to a year for standard uniforms, and have helped families cut education expenses by 17%, she says.”

SHE does far more than make school uniforms.  It provides full-tuition scholarships to girls in Togo, school supplies, and menstrual kits – often a young girl’s education can be derailed simply for lack of period products.

It’s also a job creator, employing 47 women as seamstresses in Togo, along with 36 women running businesses selling SHE products.  The seamstresses receive “dignified pay, free onsite childcare, paid time for adult education, and retirement benefits.”

And on the sustainability side, SHE has upcycled more than 20,000 pounds of fabric into menstrual pads and school backpacks.

I’m so inspired by Payton and her team, aren’t you?

Oh, before I go I’d like to highlight that you can donate a school uniform for just $20.  There – that took me a minute and 13 seconds to donate just now to provide a uniform that will last a girl for three years.  I can't help her pass her examinations, but I can help get her to her class. And that’s a no-brainer.

Godspeed, friends.

Russ