The Girl Scout Leadership Experience
Submitted by:
Girl Scouts of Louisiana - Pines to the Gulf
The Problem
This past year has been unprecedented, and we have witnessed local girls cope with the COVID-19 pandemic, learning loss, mental health decline, and isolation. As we push forward to create a new normal, girls need Girl Scouts more than ever. And the world needs more Girl Scouts.
As an organization, Girl Scouts has always been dedicated to supporting girls’ success, especially their academic achievement. “More than half of public schools teachers reported a significant learning loss in students during the pandemic in academics and social-emotional progress” (CNBC, 2021).
The pandemic is directly taking a toll on our children both academically and on their physical and emotional health, especially in children living in houses of low socioeconomic status. Our organization and program are employing strategies to minimize learning loss and positively influence the mental health of the girls in our communities. We hope to provide an evolving, safe space to support girls.
The Project
The Girl Scout Leadership Experience is a one-of-a-kind, all-girl, girl-led leadership development program comprised of a collection of engaging, challenging, and fun activities that reinforce leadership training and compliment formal education and school curriculum.
The programs and program support we provide to our members help accomplish five main leadership outcomes: girls will develop a strong sense of self; girls will exemplify positive values; girls will seek challenges; girls will develop healthy relationships; and girls will solve community problems.
Our mission continues during times of uncertainty, and girls need our program now more than ever. As a resilient and nimble organization that has adjusted to meet the needs of girls for over a century, we responded swiftly and effectively to the impacts of COVID-19 and are focusing efforts on mitigating learning loss and supporting girl’s mental health.
We are respectfully proposing the use of this funding to start and maintain Girl Scout troops in Lafayette Parish schools. With this funding, we would like to start and support the Girl Scout Leadership Experience programming to approximately 100 girls in 2-3 elementary schools in Lafayette Parish. The project would start and support the formation of Girl Scout troops, which require adult volunteer support, so local girls have access to extra curricular, leadership programming within a safe and inclusive environment. The funds would cover the costs of annual Girl Scout membership registrations, which takes care of insurance for girls’ safety, the costs of Girl Scout Leadership programming materials, and volunteer support materials and costs.
The Price Tag
$5,000