Award-winning actor, best-selling author, and Girl Scout alum Kristen Bell thinks the world needs more of something: Girl Scouts. And she’s hoping they’re ready to paint the world purple.
“Part of the Girl Scout Promise is to help people at all times, and I think the world not only needs more Purple People, but it needs helpers, too,” Kristen said. “Whether that’s helping your family, helping your community, or simply helping yourself by being kind, that’s something that has always stayed with me.”
But wait—what’s a Purple Person? Kristen and her friend and co-author, Benjamin Hart, answer this question in their book, The World Needs More Purple People, and their upcoming book, The World Needs More Purple Schools, which comes out on June 21.
Ready to help Kristen Bell paint the world purple? Girl Scouts who join or renew their membership by May 13 can sign up for an exclusive virtual event with Kristen on May 19 called Kristen Bell and Girl Scouts: Paint Your World Purple. During the event, she’ll show why Girl Scouts and Purple People make a perfect pair.
“We share a common simple goal—make the world a better place,” she said. “Purple People and Girl Scouts are like peanut butter and jelly—we’re a great combination!”
Want to know a little secret before the event? Here it is: if you’re a Girl Scout, it’s likely you’re already a Purple Person! Purple People ask thoughtful questions, laugh a lot, use their voice, work hard, and are true to themselves. They’re a lot like Kristen, actually.
“I like to think that I’m pretty hardworking and industrious,” Kristen explained. “I like to be busy, and I like to help people achieve their goals. A movie or a TV show is all about a team coming together to achieve a common goal—a great final product—so I think being a good team player and always being open to learning and changing and adjusting has been really helpful to me and my collaborators.”
As a Girl Scout alum, being a Purple Person is something Kristen does in her daily life too—especially when making new friends (something Girl Scouts know all about).
“Whenever I meet a new person, I try to learn their story,” she said. “I think collecting as many stories as possible makes everyone’s world bigger and better. Listening to others helps me gain perspective and understanding. I try to see the commonalities I have with those around me while also learning about what makes us each unique.”
Kristen is a role model of what it means to be a Purple Person, and while movie and TV sets are an excellent place to practice her skills, the idea for the book came from somewhere a lot closer to home.
“My friend Benjamin and I wanted to explain to our kids that at a time when the world seems quite divisive, we can still find commonalities and have respectful, open dialogues about things we disagree about,” Kristen said. “We wanted to teach our kids about our collective humanity.”
Being a good citizen of the world and finding ways to make it a better place are things Girl Scouts and Purple People do every single day for one simple reason:
“No one lives on this planet alone,” Kristen explained. “We have a responsibility to share Earth, and it is an honorable goal to do our best to make it a little better for ourselves and everyone around us. It’s a shared world and making it better should be a shared goal.”
And if the world gets painted purple along the way, all the better.
Hear more from Kristen Bell during the members-only virtual event on Thursday, May 19. Registration is open now through May 13 for Kristen Bell and Girl Scouts: Paint Your World Purple.