GirlForward
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Mentoring, Education, and Safe Spaces programming for girls who identify as refugees or immigrants.
GirlForward is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.
We’re thrilled to announce this year’s Accomplice Award will be presented to Dilnaz Waraich! Our GirlForward Accomplice Award is presented to an adult for their unending commitment to girls. The use of the word “Accomplice” shifts the focus on doing work that dismantles the structures that oppress marginalized communities. At the heart of our mission is a deeply relational, people-centered approach, championed by Dilnaz. She recognizes that true empowerment stems from trust and authentic human connection.
Dilnaz serves as President of the WF Fund, a Chicago-based funder focused on unifying communities and amplifying impact across the country through initiatives such as Inspired Generosity and the Community Collaborative Initiative. Dilnaz sees herself as a philanthropic advocate, a role that shapes both her professional and personal life.
Grounded in her faith and family, she has spent more than 30 years engaging in interfaith communities to advance cultural sensitivity, spiritual engagement, and civic empowerment. Her early career in education shaped her desire to uplift historically marginalized communities. She brings this passion to her service on the Board of Visitors at the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, as a trustee of Catholic Theological Union, and through her work as a volunteer hospital chaplain.
Dilnaz will share her acceptance speech at jOURneys on June 10th! RSVP below to meet the legend herself!
05/07/2026
“Last Friday, 11 GirlForward girls, mentors, and staff went to the Film Festival. We saw short films made by or about young women and the things our communities face. We laughed, we cried, and we voted on our favorites. The GirlForward Girls choice award 🥇 goes to “A Requiem for School” made by an anonymous filmmaker from Afghanistan. It was the first film of the night and the girls were talking about it as soon as the event ended. We are so grateful for our partnership with ConnectHER and look forward to hosting them at Camp GF again this year!” - Becky, Senior Program Manager
If you missed it, you can pretend like you were there and watch the festival films here: https://connectherfilmfest.org/watch/
05/07/2026
Thank you to the lovely folks at Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams for hosting a fundraiser with us! 🎊 🍦 We loved picking up a few pints and scoops with our friends!
05/07/2026
Co-creating spaces for learning is no easy feat, and we’re thrilled to celebrate our latest accomplishment! This year, GirlForward received the CELTS Community Partner Award for Coeducation from Loyola University . Thanks to our partnership, we’ve been growing our community of volunteer tutors and interns who keep our after-school programs running 🌸
05/05/2026
Friendships in bloom 🌸 Someone call Teen Vogue, we just found their next cover stars, Toba and Nicole! These cuties had a flower photoshoot during one of their mentoring hangouts in Austin!
05/05/2026
Throwback to when “we spent a Saturday morning at the AARC (Asian American Resource Center) for some connective and productive conversations among mentors who have been with GirlForward from 1 month to 5 years! We talked about challenges, successes, and shared reflections from the year!” - Becky, Senior Program Manager
05/04/2026
New level of joy unlocked 🥰🥹 We’re bursting with pride for our Program Coordinator Cindy, and Sabah and Toba (2 of our incredible seniors graduating from high school and GirlForward this year!) Together, they led the moving workshop, “What We Choose to Remember: Personal Narrative” at Asian Family Support Services of Austin's second annual Prevention Summit!
Sabah and Toba led a heartfelt session on storytelling, art, and zine creation! Bonus: their mentors got to witness the magic up close in the audience🥲
Special thank you to Cindy, for organizing the workshop and for bringing together a community of storytellers! 💕 We’ll be remembering this for a long time!
And thank you to Asian Family Support Services of Austin for having us at the summit!
05/04/2026
Support girls’ education? Add to cart 🛒 Thank you to the lovely folks at for hosting a fundraiser with GirlForward! Our board members, mentors, and staff had the most wonderful time perusing gorgeous accessories with sweet treats! We’re also incredibly grateful for the donation of custom-designed bags that we’ll share with our graduates!
04/29/2026
Shoutout to our local Eagle Scout, Olivia, who helped us restock our after-school snacks in Chicago 🤗 The girlies are showing up and we couldn’t do this without you!
04/29/2026
We’re live on ! 🥰 This past week, Raghad and Hajera joined Johanna, our Executive Director, for a live radio interview with Michelle Manning-Scott and Nora Redfern on Community Partners Chat.
Raghad and Hajera shared memories from their journey to Austin and their GirlForward adventures. It was wonderful hearing what they’ve been up to lately and how they’re working towards their respective fields of social work and nursing. Thank you KOOP radio for having us on the air💕
04/27/2026
GirlForward’s annual awards ceremony will be a celebration of our 15-year jOURney through space and time ⏳ 🎉 We’re looking back on our accomplishments and looking ahead through a portal of hope that keeps us going. Catch up on the light years of GirlForward that have brought us to this moment 🌟
Join us Wednesday, June 10th, at Firehouse Chicago as we send off our GirlForward graduating class in style with awards, refreshments, and plenty of surprises! 💖
Learn more and rsvp at: https://www.girlforward.org/journeys2026
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