She Takes a Stand: 16 Fearless Activists Who Have Changed the World
mother gave birth to another daughter Mary Mar garet After her sister Caroline's abrupt death Megan focused on taking life slower and savoring each moment Caroline's godparents had written some simple mantras to celebrate Caroline's life Water the flowers every day Watch quietly and observe Go barefoot Love the outdoors and nature Seek and find a hug when you need one and finally Campfires are rare eat as many marshmallows as you can These became guiding principles for legan With its pigs lambs chickens goats cattle and horses their home was like a small farm All of the Grassell kids grew up camping skiing and riding horses Megan placed first in rodeo events such as barrel racing and pole bending She also enjoyed competing in downhill skiing races When Megan needed money she knew that her parents expected her to work for it I worked every summer since sixth or seventh grade First pumping gas and then I bussed tables and waitressed at a place called Nora's Just before the start of eighth grade Megan and her family moved to nearby Jackson Hole At the age of 17 a shopping trip with her mom to help 13 year old sister Mary Margaret buy her first bra changed Megan's path in life I couldn't believe the bras that she was supposed to buy The choices for her and for all girls her age were simply appalling to me They were all padded push up and sexual Not only that they did not fit her body prop
erly which automatically made me wonder Where were the young cute and realistic bras for girls There were none recalled Megan in a magazine interview At that moment Megan decided she would make bras for girls It didn't matter that Megan knew so lit tle about sewing that she didn't even know how to patch a pair of pants or that she had to come up with a design figure out where to manufacture the bras and learn how to sell them Megan knew how to ask for help She chose to name her company Yellowberry to highlight her belief that young girls shouldn't be pushed into growing up too fast They didn't need to wear sexy adult bras or padded bras to make them look older Like a yellow berry they were still ripen ing In their transition between childhood and adulthood they needed a bra that was fun and com fortable One step at a time Megan moved toward making her bras a reality A local seamstress in Jackson Hole helped her create prototypes which young friends helped her test for comfort and style She got impor tant advice from Jackson Hole resident Stephen Sulli van a founder of outdoor apparel companies He realized she had come up with a needed product and knowing of her skill as a champion ski racer sensed her determination to pursue whatever she put her mind to With help from a family friend she con tacted a garment manufacturer in Los Angeles that
had good labor practices Like an experienced entrepreneur Megan invested her time and savings into a venture that she not only felt passionate about but also sensed would succeed Megan's Kickstarter campaign to raise funds far exceeded her 25 000 goal More than 1 000 donors many of them young girls and parents enthusiasti cally offered financial support From the design of the Yellowberry bras to the style of promotional photos and the voice of the advertising Megan's philosophy shone through This company is my effort to help other girls who feel the same way I do that our soci ety pressures us to look and dress a certain way at a very young age Mary Margaret should feel confi dent in whatever she wears not that she is lesser than her peers if she looks different than a god desslike model 10 years her elder expressed Megan on her website As intended Megan had created simple age appropriate and comfortable apparel for girls Her girl friendly alternative to the supersexualized fash ion world that targets adolescent girls attracted the attention of the media Across the United States and from Australia to the United Kingdom news outlets reported on Yellowberry using phrases like feminist approach training bra for the 21st century and bra revolution The public clearly understood and embraced Megan's mission She was the right person at the right time to shift the status quo Her mom who doubted Megan at first recalled She came to
me and said I want to change the bra industry I thought Are you crazy What about the big box stores Victoria's Secret and all that Everybody’s so powerful and here's this little girl During her senior year at high school Megan was not only a champion for little sister Mary Margaret and other girls but a champion skier as well In March 2014 the Jackson Hole High School ski team won the Wyoming state championship Megan won first place in two races skiing faster than any male or female racer As a student at Middlebury College in Vermont and head of a dynamic new fashion com pany in partnership with her mother Megan entered her young adult years with a sense of purpose and accomplishment On the day that Megan committed to creating a new type of bra she felt what so many girls and par ents felt Megan was fed up with sexualized fashions and fashion ads Like other activists Megan had been spurred on by a need to make a change in her world I didn't care how many adults chuckled at my idea and brushed me away with the wave of a wrist wrote Megan on her company’s website Many of them were very successful entrepreneurs who couldn't see that I had more than just an idea I was told to have fun and enjoy high school to stop wor rying about changing the bra industry But I am most inspired and motivated to do something when some one tells me that I can't With such a can do attitude it is no wonder
