Programs include Kaleidoscope, which provides a life-enriching lake camp experience, aviator camp, day camp, career day, entrepreneurship and financial literacy, learning camps and Brownilympics, among others.Rossi said that being a Girl Scout member lessens the chances of the now 1 in 10 of young girls who become pregnant and 1 in 5 who have an eating disorder. Entering girls into leadership programs has been proven to be highly effective in changing lives and communities for the better, and Rossi said recipients of the Gold Award, comparable to the Boy Scouts Eagle Award, enjoy many benefits. Those benefits include adding “substance to a job resume and joining the military at a higher rank.”Of the seven counties now served by the GSCCC, Rossi said, “Most of our girls live in Ventura County.”Bridges said that the famous Girl Scout cookie sales “show girls how to handle money,” and that older Scouts are afforded a CEO in training program, learning the “entire business process” that is part of the leadership development programming. Cookie sales is the “only fundraising program for children where they decide where the money” will be spent, on troop activities or programs.Girl Scouts has also launched the Operation Gratitude program, which Bridges said sends cookies to those military members serving overseas; such boxes contain a personal note.City Manager Wally Bobkiewicz, a past president of the State Council of Girl Scouts, said that Bridges is “another case of a Santa Paulan who made good.” For more information 1-800-822-2427 or visit the GSCCC website, www.girlscoutsccc.org.
Girl Scouts: Icon of nonprofit world updated at GMSP
May 07, 2008
Santa Paula News
An icon of the nonprofit world - the Girl Scouts of America - is changing for the better, attendees at the April Good Morning Santa Paula learned.
By Peggy KellySanta Paula TimesAn icon of the nonprofit world - the Girl Scouts of America - is changing for the better, attendees at the April Good Morning Santa Paula learned. Debbie and Don Johnson/Santa Paula Times hosted the Chamber-sponsored event held at Logsdon’s at the Airport.Chamber President/CEO John Blanchard introduced Girl Scouts of California’s Central Coast (GSCCC) CAO Shari Bridges and Development Director Janice Rossi. The organization is an “icon” among nonprofits, said Blanchard.GSCCC is the “result of a realignment process, a mandate” set by the Girl Scouts of America to merge councils and better serve Scouts. The result of the merger is the newly formed GSCCC, which serves Scouts in six counties and is governed by a Council Board and three Regional Boards. Bridges said the mission of Girl Scouts is to “build girls of courage, confidence and character who make the world a better place.”The Council has “come in strong in Santa Paula,” meeting with Santa Paula Elementary School District Superintendent Elizabeth De Vita, who will be talking to school principals about creating after school Scout programs “for the younger girls.”There are 12,000 girls “from Monterey Bay to the Los Angeles County line” under the GSCCC, which has a $4 million plus annual budget. “It costs $320 a year to support a girl being a Scout,” and programs include Daisy Scouts for those youngest Scouts. Daisy Scouts incorporates leadership training for kindergarten age participants who “don’t earn badges, but earn their petals” as they progress.Rossi said that the GSCCC is “looking to do a lot of collaborations with Boys and Girls Clubs; I know in Santa Paula there are a lot of young at risk girls” that would benefit from Scout programs and friendships. “None of the girls get turned away” if they are unable to pay, as “we have a scholarship program for them so if they cannot afford” uniforms or activities they can still participate.
