Giving Compass' Take:

• Victoria Rodriguez lists four ways that you can help empower girls all over the world through philanthropy, volunteering, and posting on social media. 

• How can nonprofits with similar missions of empowering girls, connect to make more significant impact? 

• Read more ways you can take action right now to help girls and women. 

Millions of girls around the world simply don't have the same opportunities to succeed and thrive as boys. There are too many reasons why girls are held back from reaching their full potential, but some of the unique challenges they face include poor education funding, limited access to menstrual supplies, and difficulty obtaining and using mobile phones and other digital technologies.

International Day of the Girl, an annual event held on Oct. 11, is a United Nations initiative designed to raise awareness of these problems while also promoting girls' empowerment and human rights.

With that in mind, here are four quick and easy ways to support girls on this special day:

Donate to nonprofits that support girls' education: Here are three education-based organizations to which you should consider donating: The Malala Fund,  She's the First, and CARE.

Provide girls with menstrual supplies.  According to a May 2018 report published by the United Nations Population Fund, girls are more likely to miss school or drop out if they can't manage their periods.  Volunteering for Days for Girls International is a great way to address this issue. The organization's volunteer program is organized into teams and chapters, in which groups of people meet to sew and assemble Days for Girls Kits.

Give girls access to mobile phones. A new report published by Girl Effect and the Vodafone Foundation shows boys are 1.5 times more likely to own a phone and 1.8 times more likely to own a smartphone. You can learn more about how both organizations are trying to empower girls with mobile technology.

Share the hashtags #DayOfTheGirl, #girlsandmobile, and #LeaveNoGirlBehind. While some critics say hashtag activism is not effective, Oduwole argues otherwise, explaining how sharing experiences and spreading awareness through social media is the first step to making change.

Read the full article about how to empower girls around the world by Victoria Rodriguez at Mashable.