Guest
Post from Anna Maria Chávez, Chief Executive Officer
and Kathy Hopinkah Hannan National President
In
celebration of International Women’s Day, we were invited along with several of
the Girl Scouts we serve to represent our Movement at the White House, joining President
Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama to announce the new Let Girls Learn initiative
with the Peace Corps, as well as our commitment to support the advancement of
girls’ access to education worldwide.
As
the largest, most successful girl leadership development organization in the
world, we know that when girls thrive, so does our world. This initiative
brings increased focus on how critically important it is that we invest in girls
and provides all of us with another excellent opportunity to commemorate our
Movement’s global mission, reach, and impact.
Through
this partnership, we are expanding the scope of our work and deepening our
support for girls’ education globally by making tools and resources available
to girls who are pursuing two of our most prestigious awards: the Global Action
badge and the Gold Award. Through these existing national
programs, two million Girl Scouts will have the opportunity to be engaged in
learning and leadership to advance girls' education around the world.
Girls will now be able to connect to Peace Corps volunteers working on girls’
education projects and resources like PBS Learning Media’s online platform to
learn more about the importance of education for girls. Find out more
about our commitment to advance girls’ education globally here.
In
addition, for the week of International Women’s Day fifteen Girl Scouts from
six different councils will be participating as delegates in a variety of
programs and events as part of the UN Commission on the Status of Women. Our
girls will also be speaking on panels, learning about the UN process, and engaging
with UN delegates and entities. On March 9, Girl Scouts will be hosting an
event during the commission to discuss The State of Girls: The Well-being of
Girls in the United States report.
Girl
Scouts continues to prove that we are a thought leader on girls’ issues and a
Movement dedicated to empowering girls to thrive. Through our unique
programming, girls not only discover their skills and develop their leadership
potential, but are also empowered with the courage, confidence, and character
to challenge socially determined limits on what they can or cannot do, and go
on to become leaders who continue to challenge the inequalities that still
exist for girls and women worldwide.
As
champions for girls every day of the year, we want to thank each of you for the
work that you do to support girls everywhere. We encourage you to share this
important news with your colleagues and community partners as we continue to
work together to ensure that every girl has the opportunity to bring her dreams
to life and make a difference in the world.