Year of the Girl

Girl Scouts of the USA - Advocacy News

Women Legislators Join Troop Pennsylvania in Honor of Girl Scouts' 100th

October 18, 2011, More than 35 women members of the Pennsylvania state legislature came together at the Pennsylvania state capitol in Harrisburg to help Pennsylvania's three Girl Scout councils generate excitement about the upcoming 100th Anniversary of Girl Scouting by becoming honorary members of Troop Pennsylvania. See video of the event.

Senator Pat Vance and Representative Jennifer Mann will serve as the honorary troop leaders.

The partnership between the newly created Troop Pennsylvania and the Girl Scouts will focus on four issues of interest: 1) promoting girls' physical, social and emotional health; 2) increasing girls' involvement in science, technology, engineering and math; 3) girls and leadership; and 4) financial literacy.

First Lady of Pennsylvania Susan Corbett was also in attendance and will serve as the Honorary Chair of the 100th Anniversary of Girl Scouting in Pennsylvania.

Senator Mikulski Honored as a Girl Scout Champion

October 17, 2011, Connie L. Lindsey, Chair of the National Board of Directors for Girl Scouts, joined Girl Scouts of Central Maryland in honoring U.S. Senator Barbara Mikulski for her outstanding commitment to Girl Scouts, notably her support for the Girl Scouts Beyond Bars and Girl Scouts in Detention Centers programs.

GSBB began in Central Maryland almost 20 years ago, and has grown into a national program with a presence in more than 30 states. This nationally acclaimed program has been featured in several documentaries, including Daughters Left Behind, produced by journalist Lisa Ling, and Troop 1500, directed by filmmaker Ellen Spiro. Girl Scouts of Central Maryland's Beyond Bars program provides regular visits between incarcerated mothers and their daughters through bi-monthly Girl Scout meetings at the Maryland Correctional Institution for Women in Jessup, Md. The goal of the program is to reduce recidivism and intergenerational incarceration; help reduce the trauma and loss girls experience from having an incarcerated parent; and help mothers and daughters stay connected through involvement in the program.

Senator Mikulski, a lifetime Girl Scout, has been a steadfast national supporter, ensuring funding for these important and life-changing programs.

L to R: Congresswoman Karen Bass, Girl Scout Jillian, BET Networks' Debra L. Lee, and Congresswoman Donna EdwardsGirl Scouts Talk Girls and Resilience at National Meetings

Anna Maria Chávez presents remarks at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute ConferenceIn September, Girl Scouts connected with leaders in the Hispanic and African-American communities at two annual events in Washington, D.C. where they talked about girls, leadership, and the Resilience Factor, new research from the Girl Scout Research Institute.

Anna Maria Chávez, Girl Scouts new CEO- designee presented findings at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute's Annual Conference. The following week, Girl Scouts partnered with BET Networks, Inc. to host a panel discussion about the research, including hearing from senior Girl Scout Jillian, at the Annual Legislative Conference for the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation.

Read more about the research and events on the Girl Scout Blog.

Healthy Media Commission Meeting

July 12, 2011, The first Healthy MEdia: Commission for Positive Images of Women and Girls meeting was held and co-chairs Geena Davis and Deborah Taylor Tate were in attendance. Joining Deborah and Geena were a select group of industry insiders, media experts, producers and coalitions including representatives from the Alliance for Women in Media, V-me, National Association for Media Literacy Education, Common Sense Media, A & E Networks, Black Entertainment Television, PBS, Sesame Workshop, Style Network, Minority Media Telecommunications Council, and Seventeen Magazine. Two teen representatives from the Youth Advisory Council to the commission were also at the table and added their unique perspective to the conversation.

Members of the Healthy MEdia Commission and reps from the Youth Advisory Council to the commission

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The commission will host a national discussion on positive and balanced images of girls and women; produce recommendations to media and policy leaders; champion media producers who are promoting positive images; and secure industry-wide commitments to take steps for change.

Girl Scouts staff attend Miss Representation screeningFollowing the commission meeting, invited guests attended a screening of Miss Representation. The documentary created buzz at this year's Sundance Film Festival and shows how media portrayals of women and girls lead to distorted perceptions and thwarted aspirations to leadership.Guests included staff from the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, Booz Allen, Aspen Institute's Council of Women World Leaders, WJLA-TV head anchor Maureen Bunyan, and Congressional staff from the offices of Sen. Barbara Boxer (CA), Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL), Sen. Kay Hagan (NC), and Rep. Marsha Blackburn (TN).

 

Healthy Media Advocacy on Capitol Hill

L-R: Deborah Taylor Tate, Rep. Tammy Baldwin, Senator Kay Hagan, Girl Scout Katie McGraff, Geena Davis, background Girl Scouts from Nation’s Capitol CouncilTo kick off a lobby day on July 13th Girl Scouts hosted a breakfast sponsored by the Kappa Delta Sorority for advocates of the Healthy Media for Youth Act and local Kappa Delta members. Advocacy training was provided for the Kappa Delta's to engage in supporting the Healthy Media for Youth Act and to educate them on how to take the issue back to their college campuses.

Healthy Media for Youth Act advocates then joined Girl Scout staff for a series of meeting to engage and educate policymakers around healthy media and to ask for their support. The team had discussions with Senators Mikulski (MD), Boxer (CA), Collins (ME) and Ayotte (NH), and Representatives Wasserman Schultz (FL), Gwen Moore (WI), Joanne Emerson (MO), and Leonard Lance (NJ).

Later in the day Senator Hagan and Congresswoman Baldwin joined Senior Girl
Scout Katie McGraff, former FCC Commissioner Deborah Taylor Tate and Academy Award-winning actress Geena Davis for a press conference on Capitol Hill to introduce of the Healthy Media for Youth Act. The bill promotes media literacy and youth empowerment programs, authorizes research on the role and impact of depictions of girls and women in the media, and provides for the establishment of a National Task Force on Girls and Women in the Media.

Past Highlights

Learn more about Girl Scouts of the USA's advocacy efforts in these stories: