Sumner, WA -- (SBWIRE) -- 05/17/2013 -- When Brian Redmond, Seattle mailman, wrote empowering messages on stretched rubber bands and left them for his daughter to ‘stretch-n-reveal’, he had no idea of the life-changing potential his invention held. Having grown to a national campaign aimed at giving parents creative insight, tools and inspiring methods to boost young girls’ self-confidence, one father’s love is literally changing the world.

The ‘Girl Power Campaign’, is incorporating commercially-produced ‘Stretch-N-Reveal’ bands that convey positive messages that follow a simple step by step plan. This campaign is taking the world by storm giving young girls the power and confidence required to stay focused, feel successful and stand up to negative influences.

“I’ve always been mindful of the pressure society and the media places on young girls to act, look and think a particular way. When my daughter got to a certain age I knew she’d need inspiration and guidance to avoid low self-esteem, poor body image and peer pressure to engage in detrimental behavior. Therefore, I’d write inspirational messages on stretched rubber bands for her to wear as a reminder throughout the day,” says Redmond.

Continuing, “Last year we started producing the bands commercially under the ‘Zootuz’ brand and have recently launched an official Girl Power Campaign giving parents creative ways to build self-confidence in their daughters.”

The Girl Power bands messages include ‘Empowered To Be Myself’, ‘Empowered To Always Shine Bright’, ‘Empowered To Follow My Dreams’, ‘Empowered To Make a Difference’ and ‘Empowered to Change the World’. Each message targets a key area parents can assist their girls to progress through.

The bands come at a time when the “average American girl’s self-esteem plummets at age nine” (NYU Child Study Center) and 60% of girls Grade 5-12 are dissatisfied with their body image. Almost half of all girls have experimented with dieting by the age of ten. According to Real Girls, Real Pressure study sponsored by Dove, “75% of girls with low self-esteem reported engaging in negative activity such as disordered eating, cutting, bullying, smoking, drinking and using drugs.”

“These statistics are shocking. We’re working diligently to build self-confidence in girls while promoting positive choices, strong communication and understanding the importance of striving for healthy results in all areas of life,” Redmond adds.

The Girl Power Campaign website has created a parent-to-parent network to offer mutual advice and support to those with young girls who may be experiencing the inevitable pressure that comes with age. Stories and tips from parents are shared at www.girlpowercampaign.org encouraging parents to communicate, purchase bands and give them to their daughters. It is with great anticipation that mixed messages from society and the media will be counterbalanced successfully.

“As she drove off to college she found the last homemade band on her gear shifter, ‘I love you, miss you and am so proud of you.” She called me, “Thank you, Daddy for always being there for me.” I’m prepared to devote the rest of my life to this concept and help other parents do the same for their own children,” he concludes.

The bands are available now.

Retail website: http://zootuz.com/
Campaign Website: http://www.girlpowergcampaign.org

Character the Girl Power Campaign:

Purpose— To create awareness of the need to promote self-confidence in girls and help parents inspire their daughters to be the best they can be through positive parenting and verbal affirmation of value and worth. Effort and hard work are vital keys to encourage your daughter’s growth.
Mission— Equipping parents to play an essential role in developing self-confidence in girls