In addition to developing courage, confidence, and character, these days Girl Scouts are gaining a new and vital skill: resilience. Imagine for a moment, the devastation at our beloved camps after the recent fires. At first it looks like places full of wonderful memories are now only ash. Looking closely, you can see redwood sorrel and ferns beginning to grow again. Just as new life is sprouting from the ashes at our camps, our girls are learning that they too are resilient, strong, and adaptable in the face of adversity.
ROBOTICS COMPETITIONS CANCELLED DUE TO THE PANDEMIC!
As a friend of Girl Scouts, you probably have direct experience of girls’ amazing ability to see a challenge and rise to the occasion. After hearing of a need for masks and face shields in our community, our Space Cookies Robotics Team sprang into action repurposing their competition t-shirts and putting their STEM skills to work. Learning that the Girl Scouts in our Daughters of Farm Workers program and local medical professionals were in need of masks and face shields, the Space Cookies got to work, and turned out 300 masks and 300 face shields! Allison B., a Space Cookies Girl Scout, explained why she and her troop sisters felt compelled to help. “Having been a Girl Scout since 1st grade, the lines of the Girl Scout Law have always stuck with me: “Make the world a better place, and be a sister to every Girl Scout.” Amidst the pandemic, I think that it’s especially important that we stay connected and support one another!” The world needs more girls like Allison and her troop, who want to make her world a better place, one mask at a time.
Your support is needed now more than ever to build resilient girls through Girl Scouts.
Research on how kids respond to and recover from a crisis focuses on the six elements of resilience: connection, routine, belonging, expression, participation, and empowerment. Girl Scouts is uniquely positioned to provide this support: connecting and finding routine in virtual meetings and camp, fostering belonging and encouraging participation and expression through our work to become an anti-racist organization, and empowering girls to follow their dreams.
WHEN GIRLS FEEL THEY HAVE THE POWER TO SOLVE PROBLEMS IN THEIR WORLD, THEY FEEL SAFER, GROW MORE CONFIDENT, AND DREAM BIGGER.
Your generosity during this season of giving funds the supportive programs girls need to grow into leaders in their community. Allison expressed pride in their work: “A huge part of Girl Scouts is supporting each other to grow and become the leaders of our generation, and even the smallest actions such as sewing masks can help the community.”
Can we count on you to be a champion for resilience? Your gift of any amount will ensure a future where more girls and families believe Girl Scouts is for them. Visit www.gsnorcal.org/yea to make your gift by December 31, 2020. We are all in this together and our girls are thriving because of you. Thank you for keeping Girl Scouts strong in your communities.
