Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays to all!
Looking forward to new posts in the new year. 

'Til then, I hope you enjoy your time with family and friends.
Ann

Keep the bar RAISED

As many of you know, I’m an LE trainer for council, and one night, I had a first time experience:  no one showed up to be trained!  No, I didn’t take it personally, and yes, I did show up on the correct night in the right place (!) but it did get me to thinking about how that relates to the Gold Award.

Seem like a stretch?   Okay, maybe… I can’t see into other people’s lives to find out why they didn’t show up.  We’re all busy, and we all have conflicting priorities that we have to honor.  But I also know that we are modeling the behavior and values of Girl Scouting as we work with the girls.  We are also holding them to a new, higher standard for the Gold Award, and we want each and every girl to succeed with her project, earn that pride of accomplishment and feel the satisfaction of completing the toughest thing they’ve ever done in Girl Scouting! 

As I interview more girls for the Gold Award Project approval, I am struck by the “oh my leader said it was okay to do it that way” statement that I hear from many girls.  And I have to come back with something tactful that doesn’t denigrate the leader and still say that the girl really needs to do it, not gloss over it.  I try to show a benefit for doing the step, so it doesn’t seem like more paperwork.  We leaders and advisors really do need to model the behavior we want the girls to perform. And anytime we don’t, the girls see it.  (Okay, so they can both see everything and nothing, all at the same time, but that’s a different blog...somewhere…)

We need to hold them to the standard and NOT let them slide on the requirements!  Hold  their feet to the fire and get them to really dive into their project planning to identify their issue and resources.  Sure, we need to help, but not DO for them!  That’s a hard part for me, sometimes, to hold back and let the girls suss it out for herself.  Giving clues, or making suggestions to guide (not lead) her toward where she wants to go is tough for me, and for many of you, too, I bet!  So, we continue to try!

Domestic Violence

I was at an Advisory Committee Meeting the other night for Human Options, a local non-profit that works to break the cycle of domestic violence (DV).  We were talking about issues that face raising money and awareness about DV, and it brought to mind a conversation I’ve had twice now, with Senior girls.

During the Girltopia, Journey the girls had the opportunity to map their community and put in the pieces that were there.  And I made sort of a joking comment that I didn’t see a women’s shelter, and the response surprised me!  I was told, “we live in a nice community,: there’s no domestic violence here.”   And then in a Gold Award Project interview, I had a similar response.

My response was startling to each of them!  I told them that in Orange County, 1 in 5 women are touched by domestic violence in their lives.  That DV knows no color, no economic income level, no religion and no residence.  It’s all around us, and we don’t know who has been touched by it.  In my Advisory Board meeting, of the 8 of us sitting around the table, 2 were survivors of DV.  

I told the committee about the girls and the Girl Scout Gold Award Project, and I asked,  “how can a girl identify the DV issue, be passionate about it and want to Take Action, but not have the 40 hour training required to work with the shelter women and children?”  I explained that a Gold Award Project needed to be more than just a collection of needed things.  The girls need to use their leadership to make a difference in the world and take action.

We did not come up with an answer, but Vivian Clecak, the Executive Director for Human Options, left the door open for further discussion.  I think it would be great to offer girls the chance to hear from Vivian and then take the lead to create their own Take Action Projects!  She is a very passionate speaker about DV, and also a therapist, so she knows how to speak well, and listen hard.

Perhaps as Senior Advisors and/or Project Advisors, this is how we can help the girls take the lead and create their own project.  Help them to identify the Root Issue that they are passionate about, then help to channel that into inspiration and focus for a project.