In the later part of 2008, Dove compiled a national report on young women: 'Real Girls, Real Pressure: A National Report on the State of Self-Esteem.' Some of the results were startling – 7 out of 10 girls feel they do not measure up in some way, including their looks, performance in school and/or relationships with family and friends. The worst part is that insecurity has been proven to lead to self-destructive behavior such as eating disorders, cutting, bullying, smoking or drinking.

In response to the report, the company launched a self-esteem fund and hopes to reach 5 million girls with positive efforts around self-esteem by the year 2010.

Actress, singer and entrepreneur Raven-Symone of 'That's So Raven,' 'The Cosby Show' and 'Cheetah Girls' fame first became involved with the self-esteem initiative after seeing those fabulous Dove commercials with real women – sans makeup -- and was enamored of the way the company "widened the perception of beauty." The 23-year-old said she called up the company and asked to be down.

"I love being a part of things -- whether it's TV shows or albums -- that promote high self-esteem and respect toward yourself and others. So I called Dove, and they let me know about Dove's workshop tour, where we go and sit down with about 60 to 100 girls, ages 11 and 12. We talk about building tools for mothers, girls and even mentors that help to render self-confidence and teach them a better a way to look at themselves."

Raven-Symone, who, along with author and therapist Jess Weiner, taught a self-esteem workshop with pre-teen girls in Cape May, NJ, in early January. She talked, shared and did role-playing around healthy self-esteem.

"I want to hear their stories," she says. "I want to hear the girls who engage in negative activities like eating, cutting, binging or smoking because of their low self-esteem."

As a young actress who has been in the spotlight even before she played the character of Olivia at the age of 4 on 'The Cosby Show,' Raven-Symone knows a thing or two about unrealistic images portrayed by media – and how what you see isn't really what you get.

"One of the stories I'm going to share with them is when I went to a photo shoot and I got to air-brush myself. I was able to, literally, take away my own flaws that I personally didn't like," she says.

"So then you have some girls looking at these magazine covers with women on them not realizing that that's not how that person looks in real life. I'm not saying that's the only reason why 75% of young girls with low self-esteem feel they don't measure up or feel they have to go through extreme measures to look like that, but it is definitely one of the many things that lead to low self-esteem.

Raven-Symone, who herself does not have a "standard" figure, will also talk to them about healthy body image.

"Over the years, I've been talked to by all kinds of people with all kinds of titles who've told me how I look or how I don't look. At the end of the day, I have to come home to myself, and I have to look at myself in the mirror," she says. "There will always be things that I would like to change about myself and when I'm ready to change them I will, but I'm not going to in an unhealthy way. I'm always going to use positive language to describe my body."

Another big piece of the study found that 42 percent of African American girls with low self-esteem have a mother who criticizes her own looks. And girls with low self-esteem are less likely to receive praise from either parent and are more likely to receive criticism than girls with high self-esteem.

Raven-Symone, whose parents have always been an integral part of her career and who the actress says are "truth talkers," says parents need to be active listeners.

"I think that parents in this world need to learn the correct language to speak with their children" she explains. " They need learn to listen and understand and remember that they were kids once, and not speak down to us. Simply working with your kids and talking to them will help the negative percentage go down."

"I'm with Dove to get into the brains of these girls to understand and, hopefully, help them get out of this negative thinking.

"If you have good self-esteem, it shows on your face. When you're proud of yourself and you're happy with yourself, you feel good about yourself and you can accomplish things. In a vain way, it truly makes you look better, and in a non-vain way, you can help others when you're happy. No matter what you look like, it makes you look good," she says.

For more information on Raven-Symone: www.ravensimonepresents.com

For more information on the Dove Self Esteem Awareness Initiative (including resources for parents and mentors): www.campaignforrealbeauty.com