Girl Scouts empowers girls to pursue their dreams
By Melissa Rollins, Editor, editor@newsandpress.net
When a lot of people think about Girl Scouts, they think cookies. In the past decade though, Girl Scouts has changed a lot.
“The cookies are not the mission of Girl Scouts,” said Dana Spivey, Community Engagement Specialist for Girls Scouts of Eastern South Carolina. “That is what we are trying to get people to realize. We are STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math); our girls are really into STEM.”
Spivey said that exploring the outdoors is also a fun part of scouting.
“We have a camp in Bennettsville, Sandy Ridge, and any girl 5K- 12 can attend,” Spivey said. “We have Llama Treks and all different destination camps.”
Girls in high school may not realize how much they can get from Girl Scouts, Spivey said.
“A lot of older girls think that Girl Scouts is not for them but, the thing is, it is for everyone 5K through twelfth grade,” Spivey said. “The older girls don’t realize how many opportunities are out there for scholarships and even more money for scholarships just by being a Girl Scout.”
Spivey said that there is a bond between Girl Scouts, even after they age out of the programs.
“One of the best things that girls receive by being part of Girl Scouts is the sisterhood,” Spivey said. “It is a community.”
Aside from learning STEM skills, girls also learn interpersonal skills.
“The ability to work with our volunteers and the wide-variety of people that they come in contact with helps the girls build their own leadership skills,” Spivey said. “It pulls girls out of their shell. It is positivity in the girls’ lives that sometimes they wouldn’t have otherwise. Sometimes they don’t have that at home so that time they meet once a week or once every two weeks, that is a time that they know they have someone they can count on.”
Spivey said that she wishes every girl could be part of a troop because the organization works hard to empower girls to pursue their dreams.
“I want all girls that realize that no matter their race, age, whatever, they can do anything they set their minds to,” Spivey said. “That is the biggest thing that we have to do, we have to break down those stereotypes and break those walls down and let them see their full potential and what they can do.”
Girls interested in joining Girl Scouts can find a troop near them by visiting, www.girlscoutsesc.org.
Effective May 1, the office on Pisgah Rd. is relocating to Suite 400 of the Business Technology Center, at 181 E. Evans Street, Florence.