Mighty Strong Girls is a magazine to help navigate girls of all ages through various obstacles they may face in "girl world".
Amy Denney, founder and editor, had no idea that her religious faith would lead her to start a magazine for preteen to teenage girls. Mighty Strong Girls is a quarterly magazine that coordinates with the seasons of the year. The magazine also has a website, where there is a blog to express on almost any topic the girls want to discuss.
However, Mighty Strong Girls is not just a magazine or blog, but also an organization and movement. Girls in the age demographic of 12 to 20 years old are the main target for the magazine. The idea for the magazine began with a girl that Denney was mentoring. Denney says that the girl struggled with "understanding what beauty really is". The girl then explained that God had called on her to share with other girls the difficulties that she faced in her life.
From then on, other girls who are now writers and bloggers for Mighty Strong Girls found themselves being called to do the same work. Denney stated the main need was, "for girls to understand where their value and beauty comes from."
"It's a different way for girls to look at themselves and view life transformation. Originally, the magazine was focused more on body image, but now in their new issue, there are more topics that touch on mental, physical, and spiritual health.
For Melissa Egenes, Partnership Coordinator for Mighty Strong Girls, her daughter was able to write about how she copes with experiencing a school shooting. Egenes' daughter was present during the shooting at Normal Community School two years ago and seemed to have trouble talking about it. Through Mighty Strong Girls, her daughter was able to discuss the traumatic incident. Egenes says, "It has been a great outlet for her."
"For me as a mom, it is so nice to see girls encouraging other girls," Egenes said. "This is a positive slant versus everything you hear in our culture"
"This is such a positive alternative to the other magazines or media that is out their for our teens."
Denney added "I really see girls rising within Mighty Strong Girls to be leaders to one another."
She pointed out articles have brought up sex, self-ham and eating disorders. Some parents might oppose such topics.
"So we have to tackle the hard questions that their struggling with and not push them down and pretend that those aren't things they are concerned about," Denney said.
"They need to hear something different, something that tells them who they are."