From the Desk of Diane Tipton
President, Girl Scout Council of the Nation’s Capital

Girl Scouts: What We Stand For

We are aware of ongoing campaigns to discredit the reputation of Girl Scouts and distract us from our mission of building girls of courage, confidence and character.  Misinformation is passing as fact, and therefore, as the President of the Girl Scout Council of the Nation’s Capital, I think it is important to share with you the truth of where we stand on several sensitive issues.

The Girl Scout organization does not take a position on abortion or birth control and these topics are not part of the Girl Scout program or our materials. We believe these matters are best discussed by girls with their families. Girl Scouts of the USA and the Girl Scout Council of the Nation’s Capital does not have a relationship with Planned Parenthood.  We do not distribute or allow Planned Parenthood to distribute materials at our meetings. And, contrary to rumors, we do not make donations to this group. The fact is that as a charitable organization we do not make donations to any other organization. Please visit our Annual Report to see the money raised by corporations, grants, government agencies and SHARE contributors, supports our girls, volunteers, programs and camps.

Girl Scouts of the USA is one of the 145 Member Organizations of WAGGGS, which promotes mutual understanding and cross-cultural opportunities for girls around the world. There is value for Girl Scouts of the USA being a part of this global initiative for girls. However, the WAGGGS program is separate from our Girl Scout program, and your Girl Scout membership dues and cookie sales proceeds do not support WAGGGS. All dues collected from Girl Scout members are used to pay for services directly delivered to Girl Scouts in the USA and girls involved in USA Girl Scouts Overseas, our program for American families living abroad. 100 percent of the proceeds from the cookie sale stay in our Council to provide opportunities for all the girls we serve.

Our Council has not dealt with requests from families of transgender youth. Our focus remains on girls in kindergarten through 12th grade where, in an accepting and nurturing environment, and with the support of dedicated volunteers and parents, Girl Scouts gain the opportunity to test and build their potential as leaders.  We continue to inspire girls with the highest ideals of character, conduct, patriotism and service so that they may become happy and resourceful citizens.

Girl Scouts is the largest organization dedicated to serving all girls with over three million members nationwide and nearly 90,000 members here in the Greater Washington Region. Since 1912, we have a proud history of developing girls’ confidence and inspiring leadership—all in a wholesome environment.  Girls discover their potential, have the opportunity to learn by doing, earn awards and recognitions, while gaining important leadership experiences.

We think that the best way to evaluate the Girl Scout program is not by hearsay, but by becoming an active part of our organization. We rely on committed volunteers; moms, dads and caring adults like you, who recognize the significance of girls’ leadership, friendships and future. We welcome you to join Girl Scouts, volunteer and stay involved in building girls of courage, confidence and character.

Thank you,

Diane Tipton
President, Girl Scout Council of the Nation’s Capital

For additional information, please read the Girl Scouts of the USA FAQ page.

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What Can a Cookie Do?

Girl Scout Cookies go on sale

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Bob Madigan – WTOP’s Man About Town

“WTOP Radio’s Man About Town” Bob Madigan has been with WTOP Radio for 18 years. For most of that time, he has been covering the “Good” “Positive” news of Washington. You can email Bob at bmadigan@wtop.com or follow him on Twitter.

Boo Law’s Fifty Five Years of Scouting
Boo Law, Bethesda, MD is a guest blogger for the Girl Scout Council of the Nation’s Capital

My scouting experience initially followed my daughters’ progression through Girl Scouting and has continued ever since. My entire Scouting career has been devoted to working with the kids. I took all of the training offered by the Girl Scout Council. I worked with the Brownie Troop; served as a Junior Leader, a Cadet Leader and then a Senior Scout Advisor.

In 1957 our oldest daughter, Mona, opened the magical door of scouting for me when she joined a Brownie Troop. I volunteered as the cookie chairman and much later (while caring for Husband at home for 11 years) I was the Cookie Depot. I jumped into scouting head first, up to my ankles!

Our other daughter, Jeanne, joined a Brownie troop and our son, John, was an Adventure Guide and later a Boy Scout.  I have had the Pleasure of working with Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts and Explorers (Co-ed division of the Boy Scouts).

As cadets we camped outside of the USA in Fundy National Park, Canada.  Our cadet Troop was featured on Canadian National TV for a 30 minute program on Girl Scouting.

We camped in every Girl Scout camp in the Council and in State Parks.  We back-packed and hiked on the Appalachian Trail, the C & O canal tow path and on Sugar Loaf Mountain. The girls were planning a trip to Our Chalet and these outings, in part, served as training for hiking the Swiss Alps. What a thrill the first trip to Our Chalet in Adelboden, Switzerland. For five of the sixteen girls, this was the first time they had flown on a plane.  Other treasured highlights included having High Tea with Lady Baden Powell at Hampton Court in London; and when I chaired a Girl Scout Nation event called “Petticoats, Pot and Politics”(1972) we were guests at the White House and aboard Air Force One.  I also served as Camp Nurse at Camp Bay Breeze and Brighton Woods.

The Senior Troop #1978 got so good at planning and carrying out events and trips that the parents were comfortable letting us travel to Canada, and Europe many times.

For many summers the Mariners (one of the troop’s patrols) sailed the Brilliant, a 62 foot schooner, out of Mystic, Connecticut for a week at a time.  The Mariners also spent many summers as tour guides aboard “old Barney” docked at St. Michaels, Maryland.  Each year for two weeks we gave tours, polished the brass, and swabbed the decks and for fun jumped overboard.

The troop sailed the Greek Islands with Captain Jenis Gea Vinh Ikus or “Captain John” and his nephew Bobbi.

The Troop went on many canoe trips in the area on various rivers, and many a time we were shooting the rapids on the Cacapon River.  To learn about the local rivers I joined the Canoe Cruisers Association who provided great information on the local rivers. We also joined the Sea Scout Explorers for their Regattas.  We explored caves in Maryland and Virginia with a local Boy Scout troops and we threw in a few hay rides just for fun.

For five years the troop served as the Host Committee, which I chaired (1971-75), for the National Explorer Presidents Congress.  This week-long annual event in Washington D.C. was attended by over 2,000 Explorer Scouts.

I subscribed to “The Council Fire”, (The Journal of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts) published in London in the 1960s through the 1990s. It was a good incentive for practicing “When you think you are looking wide, look wider still”.

As Troop #1978 we traveled a lot.  Anytime we went anywhere our first choices for lodging (besides camping) were youth hostels. We visited Canada, and Switzerland (Our Chalet) and other trips included:

Germany:  cruised the Rhine River past the Lorelei Rock (Where legend say singing nymphs loured sailors onto the rocks).

France:  practiced their French at the University in Paris

Greece:  saw the ancient ruins and sailing the Greek Islands etc.

Luxemburg:  met other guides

Denmark:  toured Copenhagen and made friends with other guides

Scotland:  stayed in Fernihirst Castle, with its moat and ghost.

Ireland:  attended a banquet at a castle on the Shannon River.

England:  stayed at “Olave House”, saw the sights of London.

The troop financed “all things we wanted to do” by giving International Dinners at various churches along River Road (Bethesda, MD).  We always left the churches cleaner than we found them, and were often asked to give other dinners at the churches we had visited.The girls wore costumes they made, researched menus, provided the food and drink and put on a little skit. . . Oh, and sold tickets for the dinners (not their favourite task).  All of the dinners had a theme:  There were many Luaus (grass skirts etc.), French, German (Oktoberfest), Scandinavian smorgasbord, Greek and many others.  We put on a Fashion Show and of course we sold large quantities of Girl Scout Cookies and calendars. The girl Treasurer invested the money so it was working while we worked.  The girls were becoming happy, resourceful, sharing and productive women.

I have had the pleasure of participating in programs at all four World Centers, and visiting Lady and Lord Baden-Powell’ home in London and their burial site in Kenya. These are some of the highlights of my, over 38 years, active scouting life.  To tell the whole story would require a small book (well . . . perhaps a large one).

Happy scouting,

Boo, Senior Girl Scout Advisor, Troop #1978

Boo Law, Bethesda, MD is a guest blogger for the Girl Scout Council of the Nation’s Capital

The author with fellow Girl Scouts and CEO Lidia Soto-Harmon at the State Department

By: Marisa C., Girl Scout

I was honored to attend the Colloquium of the Women in Public Service Project at the State Department in Washington, DC as a guest of Girl Scouts. The hour and a half metro ride and long wait out in the cold were all well worth it. There were too many great inspirational speakers to mention them all, but some notable faces were Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, head of the I.M.F. Christine Lagarde, Minister of Agriculture of Liberia Florence Chenoweth, former Prime Minister of New Zealand Helen Clark, President of Kosovo Afitete Jahjaga, Gloria Steinem, aand Madeleine Albright.

I was thoroughly touched by such stories as this; that little boys in Kosovo didn’t think that they could be president because it was a job for women. Hearing all the great stories of achievement inspired me to stand up for myself and not be afraid. One story told by Ms. Chenoweth comes to mind as particularly inspirational. When declined entry to an agriculture university because of her gender, she sued the government, and won! Besides the interesting anecdotes, one common theme caught my eye; the theme that women need to step up and be confident. We need to ask for those promotions, for those pay raises, and take credit for all the great that we do. We need to look in the mirror and see that we can be a Senator, without someone else telling us that we can. We need to look inside ourselves and bring our greatness and our dreams out and express them without hesitation.

Attending this summit was especially helpful for me, as I am currently running for Student Member of the Board of Education in Montgomery County. The many inspirational words and advice offered from the many current and former public servants in attendance gave me a great feeling of power and ability to succeed, as well as provided simple tips on improving self-confidence. Overall, in several hours on Thursday morning, I was able to increase my self-confidence, my inspiration, and my involvement in women’s rights exponentially. I was presented with new ideas and met new and motivating people.

Author Andraéa N. LaVant

By: Andraéa N. LaVant, Inclusion Specialist, Girl Scout Council of the Nation’s Capital

Normal. It’s a word that’s tossed around ever-so-lightly, as if everyone knows exactly what it’s supposed to mean. “Is that normal?” “She’s not normal.” But what really is “normal?”

This week, students, parents, and teachers across the globe are setting aside time to “redefine normal” as part of Inclusive Schools Week (December 5-9). Throughout this week, educators, students, and families will come together to celebrate the progress of those who’ve worked to make their schools more inclusive. The week also provides a space for schools and communities to discuss inclusive education and plans for the future. Ultimately, this serves as a time for communities as a whole to begin or continue the journey toward providing a quality education to all children regardless of differences in ability, gender, ethnicity, language and health status.

The Inclusive Schools Network (ISN), sponsor of Inclusive Schools Week, has come up with a variety of ways for young people, their families, and schools to celebrate the week. This includes joining the I am Norm (www.iamnorm.org) campaign, as they encourage people to host their own “I am Norm Days” in their schools or with programs like Girl Scouts. The I am Norm Resources page provides templates for a “Norm-tag,” which allows students to fill-in their names and something that makes them unique, and then proudly wear their tag around school for the week.

Additionally, GSCNC invites its troops to participate in the Including ALL Girls initiative, which educates girls about inclusion and how they can include girls with disabilities in all aspects of Girl Scouts.  As part of the initiative, the Including ALL Girls patch program is designed to heighten Girl Scouts’ awareness, understanding and acceptance of people’s differences and disabilities.

For other ideas on how to celebrate Inclusive Schools Week, be sure to download the 2011 Celebration Kit (PDF).

We are back from the National Convention and the kickoff to the 100th Anniversary year!  It was indeed a great convention and a true beginning for our organization’s next 100 years.  Over 15,000 girls and adults traveled to the convention in Houston. To see pictures from our visit, make sure to check out this album on Facebook. Stay tuned for more pictures.

Some of the highlights:

A new national CEO began her tenure with a great speech on Sunday morning.  Anna Maria Chávez, our new national CEO, is going to be a great asset for the Girl Scout movement. She grew up as a Girl Scout in Arizona and is a lawyer and former CEO of the Girl Scout Council in San Antonio, Texas. She has great energy and will be a great national representative; she is also the first woman of color to hold the position of National CEO for our organization. Read more about Anna Maria Chàvez here.

We had 120 members from our council who attended (36 were delegates).  As is our tradition, we hosted a delegation dinner featuring Ani Hesse, a 12 year old Girl Scout from Los Angeles, singing Ignite in English and Spanish. Ignite is the official song of Girl Scouts Rock the Mall: 100^th Anniversary Sing-Along.

Our girl delegates were outstanding. They have successfully lobbied me to create “Lidia’s Kitchen Cabinet” so that I can “keep it real” for the teens in our council.

Our booth with Destination DC (and next to Little Brownie Bakers) was always busy.  We have thousands and thousands of eager volunteers and their troops from across the country preparing to come to celebrate with us at Girl Scouts Rock the Mall on Saturday, June 9.  A big thank you for the volunteers and staff who were at the booth explaining the Girl Scout Rock the Mall event.

We heard from Girl Scout speakers like Katie Couric and Robin Roberts who not only shared their leadership journey but how they loved being Girl Scouts.  Of special note, GSCNC alumna Katie Couric mentioned Camp Potomac Woods and Camp Coles Trip where she camped as a young Girl Scout. We met “Fly Girl”, the first African-American helicopter fighter pilot in our country, and some of the most inspirational stories from Young Women of Distinction, girls who earned their Gold Award with incredibly powerful projects that changed their communities. Click here to read about amazing Gold Award Project girls.

As you will recall, three proposals were being considered:

• The first, about changing timing of the delegate terms to two years before the convention did not pass.
• The second, about adding a program fee not to exceed the new annual dues in 2013 to up to $15 did pass, but it is left to the discretion of each council.  Our council will not be implementing this in the near future.
• The third and last proposal about a revolving Girl Scout membership year was tabled for further study.  GSUSA had said this strategy would cost close to 1.2 million dollars to implement.

We will be launching the Year of the Girl in 2012 and this strategy will help us build great excitement for Girl Scouting and raise one billion dollars nationally and locally to help support Girl Scouting in our country.

I want to thank all the staff that worked so hard during the convention.  We are ready to launch this 100th year together.
Sincerely,

Lidia Soto-Harmon
CEO
Girl Scout Council of the Nation’s Capital

Read GSUSA’s full blog post: Girl Scouts of the USA is Proud to Welcome Anna Maria Chávez, Chief Executive Officer.

Follow Anna Maria Chávez on Twitter: @GirlScoutEagle1

I Want to Rock the Mall is a YouTube contest especially for Girl Scouts sponsored by K¹² Inc., America’s leader in online learning for students in grades kindergarten through 12.

Write an original song expressing what it’s like to be a Girl Scout, record it on video and upload it to youtube.com/gsrockthemall. I Want to Rock the Mall kicks-off November 10,  2011. All entries must be posted on YouTube by April 20, 2012.

The Girl Scout contest winner will dazzle the stage with a live performance in front of hundreds of thousands at Girl Scouts Rock the Mall: 100^th Anniversary Sing-Along, in Washington, DC on June 9, 2012. Plus, the winner will be introduced and share a stage with “American Idol” finalist and Girl Scout alumna Thia Megia. To enter, you must be a registered Girl Scout in grades K through 12. I Want to Rock the Mall is part of the 100^th anniversary celebration of the Girl Scout movement. The top 10 entries will receive recognition at the event and a Girl Scouts Rock the Mall T-shirt.

“I know that girls are doing it all these days, so I can’t wait to see the videos, hear the creative songs and join our talented winner at Girl Scouts Rock the Mall. It’s going to be truly inspiring,” said Thia Megia, singer, musician and finalist on the hit FOX series “American Idol,”. Thia is the official Ambassador for the I Want to Rock the Mall YouTube contest. While participating in the “American Idol” live tour across the country, Megia balances her performing career and school work as student at California Virtual Academies powered by K¹²_.

Girl Scouts Rock the Mall: 100^th Anniversary Sing-Along is one of several events that will mark the 100th anniversary of Girl Scouts. Hosted by the Girl Scout Council of the Nation’s Capital and Girl Scouts of the USA, it will be the largest gathering of Girl Scouts with an estimated 200,000 Girl Scouts from around the world attending.

To enter, you must be a registered Girl Scout, in grades K – 12,  living in the United States. The video entries must be posted in response to the official I Want to Rock the Mall YouTube contest at www.youtube.com/GSRocktheMall.

The winner will be determined based on creativity, originality, musicality and the girl’s ability to engage her audience. The contest is sponsored by Girl Scouts of the Nation’s Capital and K¹².

For full rules and more information visit: www.gscnc.org/youtubecontest.html

Have you been keeping up with our 100th anniversary podcast series? Catch up on each episode by clicking here.