OLD Jayne Blog on nonprofits/ngos, communications, community engagement, volunteerism, aid & development, women's empowerment, & random thoughts

Today, I want you to think about Girl Scouts

16:34, 31 August 2010

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Today, no matter who you are, I want you to think about Girl Scouts of the USA (or Girl Guides if you are outside the USA) as:

• a place where you could volunteer -- for a day, for a week, for months, for years
  
• a suggested activity for your daughters, your granddaughters, your friend's daughters, etc.
  
• an organization your association, club or nonprofit can partner with
  
• an organization that probably isn't what you think it is
• an organization you should support with a financial donation, however tiny

Fall is the start of the new membership year for Girl Scouts, so now is a perfect time to have a look at the organization. I'm speaking purely as a volunteer with Girl Scouts; the words below are entirely my own:

Girl Scouts as a place you could volunteer

There are volunteering opportunities with Girl Scouts for every schedule and for just about any interest or skill you have. Some opportunities are just for one-day, such as helping with a day camp, providing a training activity to troop leaders, or designing a Girl Scout Badge workshop. Others are ongoing, such as leading a troop or assisting leaders of a troop. Some opportunities support local operations and other adult volunteers, such as designing outreach activities, acting as a liaison with various organizations or companies, or translating information into Spanish or another language.

You do not have to be a parent or relative of a Girl Scout to be involved as a volunteer with Girl Scouts. Girl Scouts welcomes men and women volunteers. If you decide to take on a high-responsibility role, such as a troop leader, you will get extensive training and guidance.

I volunteer with the Girl Scouts (as well as other organizations). For Girl Scouts, I help troops in the southern part of my county with their publicity needs, manage our web page, make sure region-specific announcements get out to all the troops, review fliers created by individual troops, etc. Most of my volunteering is online, with me here at my home office, in front of my laptop screen; yes, that's right, Girl Scouts involves online volunteers!

To volunteer with the Girl Scouts in the USA, find your local council (the regional office that serves your state, or your part of your state) and once you are at your council's web site, look for the volunteer link. Please note that all volunteers must complete a background check, regardless of the volunteering role they want to undertake, to help ensure safety. When you express interest in volunteering, be sure to say what you are interested in doing -- helping at just one event, for instance, or helping with a specific task, like communications or recruitment or a badge activity. Here are just some Girl Scouts badges for Girl Scouts in grades 4 and 5 that you could help with, based on your skills: Car Care, Adventure Sports, Eco-Action, Healthy Relationships, Business-Wise, Consumer Power, Discovering Technology and Science Sleuth.

Girl Scouts as a suggested activity for your daughters, your granddaughters, your friend's daughters, etc.

There are a range of activities for girls ages 5 to 17 years old in Girl Scouts. Through Girl Scouts, they may explore the solar system, learn basic car maintenance, write and star in a play, take a nature hike, learn to run a business, become a weather watcher, enjoy a scavenger hunt, cook outside, take an amazing trip, and explore various careers. A growing number of girls are pursuing a Girl Scouts Gold Award, creating a community project that not only makes a difference in the lives of many people, but also can get the attention of university admissions offices and scholarship committees.

Girl Scouts and Girl Guides, altogether, is the largest girls leadership development program in the world. The programs provided by Girl Scouts and Girl Guides help girls to develop qualities that will serve them all their lives, like leadership, strong values, social conscience, and conviction about their own potential and self-worth.

Girl Scouts as an organization your association, club or nonprofit can partner with

Hosteling International - USA is a nonprofit organization that ensures its member hostels in the USA meet certain accommodation and program standards. It also encourages its member hostels in the USA to engage with their local Girl Scouts councils. For instance, they have the Go Hosteling Patch which has activities that help girls become global citizens, learn to plan overseas trips and learn about new cultures.

Chapters of the the Society of Women Engineers have organized technology-related badge days for their local Girl Scouts troops.

Your association, club or nonprofit can engage in an activity that supports both Girl Scouts and your own membership. For instance, could Girl Scouts help your club regarding a recycling initiative? Or help with an annual awareness walk or run? Could you coordinate all of the activities for a badge that relates to your organization's mission, so that Girl Scouts could earn said badge in just a few hours at your event? Could members of your association or club volunteer just one day, even for just a few hours, at a Girl Scouts day camp? If you want to coordinate such a group activity, set up a meeting with your local council leadership (don't try to do it just via email).

Girl Scouts as an organization that probably isn't what you think it is

1. Girl Scouts does not discriminate on the basis of a person's sexual orientation, unlike the Boy Scouts of America.
   


2. Girl Scouts does not require a belief in God for girls or volunteers, unlike the Boy Scouts (note the asterisk next to the word "God" in the Girl Scouts promise) 


3. Girl Scouts are participating in very serious activities, such as UNIFEM's Say No to Violence Against Women campaign.

So many of my friends and colleagues have been shocked to learn I volunteer with such a traditional organization -- Girl Scouts. But once I talk to them about what Girl Scouts is today, in 2010, they become shocked for different reasons -- and in a good way. Girl Scouts fits with my values and my passion for building the capacities of girls to be leaders, to be in control of their lives and their decisions, and to be willing to explore, experiment and push themselves in all the right ways. My dream is that Girl Scouts becomes truly global, and that will only happen if I can motivate more of you to support the organization in some way.

Girl Scouts as an organization you should support with a donation, however tiny

No girl who wants to be a Girl Scout gets turned away because her family cannot pay the $12 annual membership dues, or because she cannot afford a uniform or vest. To cover those costs, local Girl Scouts councils rely on donations. In addition, donations help pay the admission costs to certain events which some girls cannot afford. Finally, donations also help pay for the resources needed to support girls and volunteers. So please find your local council and consider a donation. Even just $5 makes a difference!