|
|
Girl Scouts Invites
New Girls and Volunteers to Join in the Fun
October 16, 2015
Research shows hands-on opportunities offered by largest girl-led
organization in the world positively impact all aspects of girls’ lives…
Dayton, Ohio — Are you looking for quality, after-school activities for
your child that fire her imagination, inspire her curiosity, and send
her back to school eager to learn more? Girl Scouts of Western Ohio is
inviting girls to join the fun and register for Girl Scouts. Providing
countless opportunities for making friends, trying new things, and
exercising leadership skills through activities like building robots,
participating in the Girl Scout Cookie Program, playing sports, and
more, Girl Scouts is an exciting way to engage girls all year round.
“Now that kids have settled into their school routines, families are
now thinking about how they are going to allocate their free time after
school,” said Darlene Langhout, director of regional services for Girl
Scouts of Western Ohio. “Girl Scouts gives girls and adult volunteers a
positive, life changing option. And that’s not just talk. We have
statistics that show our girls excel for years to come following their
Girl Scout Leadership Experience.”
National studies from the Girl Scout Research Institute (GSRI) show
it’s not just what girls do, but how they do it that makes Girl Scouts
so beneficial. Girl Scouts is unique because girls get to learn by
doing, and they do so in a girl-led environment. This means that, in
addition to girls learning in a hands-on and active way, they are
encouraged to choose their activities, decide which topics they want to
explore, and determine how they want to go about exploring them. Girl
Scouts is the largest girl-led organization in the world, and it is a
significant contributor to its members’ success in and enjoyment of
life.
GSRI reports that at least 75 percent of girls who experience the fun
of “learning by doing” and are part of a girl-led program become better
at conflict resolution, problem solving, team building and cooperation,
and developing self-confidence. In addition, nearly three in four girls
who experience learning by doing and who are part of a girl-led program
say that, because of Girl Scouts, they’ve become a leader in more
activities with their friends and classmates, as well as in their
community.
“When girls lead, the world succeeds. Girl Scouts is the largest
organization in the world where girls call the shots and take charge of
their own future,” said Anna Maria Chávez, CEO of Girl Scouts of the
USA. “A troop who loves rollercoasters might invite an engineer to join
them at their local amusement park to learn about what makes their
stomach drop in real time, while another troop might be interested in
what happens when you recycle a bottle, and plan a visit to their
town’s recycling plant. By doing what they’re interested in and
deciding how to learn more, they are developing leadership skills that
aren’t offered by any other extracurricular activity.”
Hands-on learning opportunities and girl-led experiences within Girl
Scouts supplement the academic learning girls receive in school. These
fun and empowering experiences have been shown to boost girls’ social
and emotional skills, which are not generally part of a school
curriculum, as well as improve academic performance. Additionally,
since learning by doing is best facilitated in small environments, Girl
Scouts’ 3:1 adult volunteer to girl ratio gives girls the optimal
experience to tap into their interests and talents, and the opportunity
to explore fun new things like STEM, entrepreneurship, and the
outdoors. GSRI reports girls who experience learning by doing and are
part of a girl-led program are more likely to develop confidence,
healthy relationships, critical thinking, problem solving and positive
life skills.
Girl Scouts also provides benefits that directly complement all of the
great work girls are already doing in school every day. Girls who
experience learning by doing and who are a part of a girl-led program
learn not to avoid things that are hard for them, but rather to take
these challenges head on, practice creative problem solving, learn from
mistakes, and grow—all skills that will help girls succeed throughout
school and life.
While Girl Scouts is open to all girls from kindergarten through grade
12, anyone over the age of 18 can become a Girl Scout volunteer. Girls
cannot experience the positive impact of Girl Scouts without adult
volunteers, and each adult who volunteers has the opportunity to make a
real difference in the life of a girl. Girl Scout volunteers come from
all walks of life; they are men, women, young professionals, retirees,
college students, and more. Both girls and adult volunteers can join at
any time of the year. To join Girl Scouts or learn more about
volunteering, please visit: www.girlscouts.org/join.
|
|
|
|
