Search the site...

SOL DE MEDIANOCHE
  • JANUARY 2023
  • DECEMBER 2022
  • NOVEMBER 2022
  • OCTOBER 2022
  • SEPTEMBER 2022
  • AUGUST 2022
  • JULY 2022
  • JUNE 2022
  • MAY 2022
  • APRIL 2022
  • MARCH 2022
  • FEBRUARY 2022
  • JANUARY 2022
  • DECEMBER 2021
  • NOVEMBER 2021
  • OCTOBER 2021
  • SEPTEMBER 2021
  • AUGUST 2021
  • JULY 2021
  • JUNE 2021
  • MAY 2021
  • APRIL 2021
  • MARCH 2021
  • FEBRUARY 2021
  • JANUARY 2021
  • DECEMBER 2020
  • NOVEMBER 2020
  • Advertise with us!
  • OCTOBER 2020
  • SEPTEMBER 2020
  • AUGUST 2020
  • JULY 2020
  • JUNE 2020
  • MAY 2020
  • MAR - APR 2020
  • JAN - FEB 2020
  • NOVEMBER 2019
  • SEPTEMBER 2019
  • JULY 2019
  • MAY 2019
  • MARCH 2019
  • FEBRUARY 2019
  • NOVEMBER 2018
  • SEPTEMBER 2018
    • Yes on Salmon
    • Become a citizen
  • JUNE 2018
  • APRIL 2018
  • FEBRUARY 2018
  • DECEMBER 2017
  • SEPTEMBER 2017
  • JULY 2017
  • MAY 2017
  • Spring 2017 - No. 5
  • Winter 2016 - No. 4
  • Fall 2016 - No. 3
  • Summer 2016 - No. 2
  • Spring 2016 - No. 1
  • Contact
  • Intersecciones de Arte Ed Washington, un romántico perdido
  • Art Intersections Ed Washington, our very own hopeless romantic
  • JANUARY 2023
  • DECEMBER 2022
  • NOVEMBER 2022
  • OCTOBER 2022
  • SEPTEMBER 2022
  • AUGUST 2022
  • JULY 2022
  • JUNE 2022
  • MAY 2022
  • APRIL 2022
  • MARCH 2022
  • FEBRUARY 2022
  • JANUARY 2022
  • DECEMBER 2021
  • NOVEMBER 2021
  • OCTOBER 2021
  • SEPTEMBER 2021
  • AUGUST 2021
  • JULY 2021
  • JUNE 2021
  • MAY 2021
  • APRIL 2021
  • MARCH 2021
  • FEBRUARY 2021
  • JANUARY 2021
  • DECEMBER 2020
  • NOVEMBER 2020
  • Advertise with us!
  • OCTOBER 2020
  • SEPTEMBER 2020
  • AUGUST 2020
  • JULY 2020
  • JUNE 2020
  • MAY 2020
  • MAR - APR 2020
  • JAN - FEB 2020
  • NOVEMBER 2019
  • SEPTEMBER 2019
  • JULY 2019
  • MAY 2019
  • MARCH 2019
  • FEBRUARY 2019
  • NOVEMBER 2018
  • SEPTEMBER 2018
    • Yes on Salmon
    • Become a citizen
  • JUNE 2018
  • APRIL 2018
  • FEBRUARY 2018
  • DECEMBER 2017
  • SEPTEMBER 2017
  • JULY 2017
  • MAY 2017
  • Spring 2017 - No. 5
  • Winter 2016 - No. 4
  • Fall 2016 - No. 3
  • Summer 2016 - No. 2
  • Spring 2016 - No. 1
  • Contact
  • Intersecciones de Arte Ed Washington, un romántico perdido
  • Art Intersections Ed Washington, our very own hopeless romantic

THERE IS MORE TO GIRL SCOUTS
THAN SELLING COOKIES


BY lupe chávez

Picture
Photo courtesy of Lupe Chávez.
The Girl Scouts of the USA were started in 1912 by Juliette Gordon Low. Gordon Low was a smart, strong, and independent woman who believed in the potential of all girls. On March 12, 1912, Juliette Gordon Low held the first Girl Scout Troop meeting in Savannah, Georgia. According to the Girl Scout of the USA webpage “from that first gathering of a small troop of 18 culturally and ethnically diverse girls, Juliette broke the conventions of the time – reaching across class, cultural, and ethnic boundaries to ensure all girls, including those with so called disabilities, had a place to grow and develop their leadership skill.”

Today, the Girl Scouts in the USA has over 1.8 million girl members, and through its membership in the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS), Girl Scouts of the USA is part of a worldwide family of 10 million girls and adults in 146 countries, including Mexico and many Central and South American countries. The Girl Scouts of Alaska Council estimates (not all families report race/ethnicity when signing up) that there are around 450 Hispanic girls participating in Alaska, 200-250 in Anchorage.

The Mission of the Girl Scouts is to “Build girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place”. One of the ways the Girl Scouts does this is by offering girls unique leadership experiences at every level of Girl Scouts (Daisy; Brownie; Junior; Cadette; Senior; Ambassador). Leadership in the Girl Scout world is defined as “knowing who you are and what you stand for” and “making decisions every day that inspire others to make a positive change in the world”.

In addition to leadership skills, Girl Scouts gives girls the opportunity to learn new skills by participating in different activities. Here’s just a few examples: Troop meetings; hands on learning at STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) Fairs; week-long Camps (Day Camp and Overnight Camp), and yes, selling Girl Scout Cookies. The Girl Scout Cookie Program helps girls learn these five important life skills:
1. Goal Setting,
2. Decision Making,
3. Money Management,
4. People Skills,
5. Business Ethics. Through all of these different activities, the Girl Scout program has proven to be a positive experience for girls.
I signed up to be a parent volunteer with the program four years ago when my daughter was in 1st Grade. The next year, with the help of another mom, I started a new Troop. I didn’t know much about Girl Scouts, but the Girl Scouts of Alaska provided training and support, and I had a Troop Leader manual that helped guide me along this journey.

Here are a few of the activities the Girl Scouts in our Troop have carried out to make a positive difference in our community: collected new toys, wrapped them, and delivered them to the AWAIC Shelter; helped pick up garbage and cleaned up a park/playground area; donated Girl Scout Cookies to Military Families, local fire fighters, teachers, Clare House and the AWAIC Shelter.

Troop Leader volunteers are not paid and we volunteer a lot of hours. It’s been a lot of work, but it has been rewarding work.

If you are interested in learning more about Girl Scouts, would like to volunteer or start a new troop, log on to these webpages for more information.

https://www.girlscouts.org
http://www.girlscoutsalaska.org/en/for-volunteers/why-volunteer.html

Picture
Picture
PROUDLY POWERED BY SOL DE MEDIANOCHE NEWS, LLC.
Sol de Medianoche is a monthly publication of the Latino community in Anchorage, Alaska