On March 20, 2014 Girl Scouts of the USA hosted a brown bag
lunch briefing for staff on Capitol Hill to highlight the findings from the Girl
Scout Research Institute’s report, The State of Girls: Unfinished Business. The panel included coauthor
of the report, Dr. Kamla Modi from the Girl Scout Research Institute, Communications Director of Girl
Scouts of the Colonial Coast council, Marcy Germanotta, and a Girl Scout from
the council, Lily. Dr. Modi highlighted
many of the key findings in the report which includes major trends affecting
girls’ leadership and healthy development in the U.S. today. In particular, she
addressed key findings relating to girls’ emotional and physical well-being; 33%
of girls in the U.S. are obese or overweight, while 30% of girls struggle with
their emotional health, stating they feel sad or depressed.
The panelists from Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast
Council, Marcy Germanotta and Girl Scout Cadette Lily, offered perspective on
what Girl Scouts does to address many of the issues emphasized in the report in
their area in Southeast Virginia. Specifically, Ms. Germanotta spoke about her
council’s many community partnerships that work to bring Girl Scouting to girls
from various communities. As stressed in The
State of Girls: Unfinished Business, many girls do not have the opportunity
to engage in out-of-school activities. The report states that participation in
regular and long lasting out of school activities such as Girl Scouts allows
for girls to avoid unhealthy and unproductive behaviors by providing a safe
environment that will empower youth to make a difference in their communities.
One of the highlights of the panel was Lily, a Girl Scout from
Colonial Coast council , who shared examples of activities she is involved in through
her council’s advocacy committee which
allows adult and teen members to speak up for policies that support the
well-being of girls through addressing policy makers and fellow stakeholders. She
also spoke about her experiences with bullying/relational aggression in school,
and how she has learned to navigate unhealthy social situations in a way that
allows her to overcome the scenario and recognize the positive people in her
life. According to The State of Girls,
30% of girls have experienced some form of bullying from their peers. Lily is
working on bringing a Girl Scout program called BFF (Be a Friend First) to her
community with the hope that girls will learn new ways to develop healthy
relationships with one another while building self-esteem and confidence.
The briefing was an opportunity to share the data compiled from
The State of the Girls report with
staff on Capitol Hill to help inform policy on many of these issues which
impact girls today.