March 2024

This is your monthly newsletter, exclusive to supporters of GSWO

March is such a celebratory time at Girl Scouts. We will celebrate Girl Scouts' 112th birthday on March 12. And on March 10, we will honor the hard work and success of Gold Award Girl Scouts at our annual Gold Award Ceremony!

This month, I am sharing my reflections on how Girl Scouts creates generations of changemakers and has been doing so for 112 years! Changemakers develop solutions for community problems, serve their communities, or challenge norms around what is possible.

In this issue, you will read about:

Gold Award Changemakers: Kate B.’s Gold Award project helped K-3 students develop their self-esteem while building friendships.

Changemakers Beyond Girl Scouts: Friends of Girl Scouts (FROGS), an alum group, gather to give back to their community.

Change-Making STEM Careers: Girl Scouts STEM programming helps girls discover their passion for STEM and prepares them to be the next generation of STEM leaders who change the world.

Honoring Changemakers: Girl Scouts of Western Ohio will honor changemakers at the "She Leads: A Celebration of Changemakers" breakfast in October.

You—our donors, partners, and supporters—invest in the next generations of changemakers who make the world a better place! Your support ensures every girl can experience Girl Scouts where they discover their passions, create community connections a, and take action to create change. Thank you for all that you do to support girls who grow into women of courage, confidence, and character who make the world a better place!

Yours in Girl Scouting,

Aimée Sproles

Chief Executive Officer

Girl Scouts of Western Ohio

Gold Award Changemakers

The Gold Award creates opportunities for the next generation of changemakers to grow their leadership skills. To earn the Gold Award, Girl Scouts create solution-oriented projects to make a difference in their communities. With a decline in youth mental health from the burden of social media and a lack of tools to combat these challenges, Kate B. was inspired to create “A Self-Care Summer."

"A Self-Care Summer" is a two-week, no-cost day camp focused on cultivating healthy self-esteem and peer relationships. Kate worked with a child psychologist to ensure activities and crafts were age- appropriate and encouraged self-awareness. Parents reported positive changes, including seeing a difference in their child or watching peers become friends.

Kate learned patience and adjusted as she worked with K-3 students. She discovered the importance of meeting people where they are at, a lesson she takes with her as she starts her degree in social work.

Your support fuels Gold Award changemakers like Kate—a positive role model who creates change in her community that ripples out into the world. Thank you for your continued support of Gold Award girls and their projects!

Changemakers Beyond Girl Scouts

Girl Scouts become life long changemakers through service. That's what our alum group, FROGS (Friends of Girl Scouts), showed us. FROGS saw a need and stepped up to give back to their community.

With two members who have had breast cancer, FROGS realized these women experience significant discomfort when wearing a seatbelt throughout treatment.

Breast pillows became the solution and FROGS got busy making!

These pillows create a soft barrier between the seatbelt and easily irritated skin, resulting in reduced pain for users. Together, FROGS has made over 60 breast pillows for patients at Wood County Hospital's Cancer Center.

Thanks to your support, Girl Scouts learn the lifelong importance of service, which they carry out into the world. That's one way your investment makes the world a better place!

Change-Making STEM Careers

Science, technology, engineering, and math(STEM) fields are critical to the United States' economic and global success—yet women remain underrepresented throughout the STEM pipeline. The U.S. Department of Commerce Economics and Statistics Administration reports that women make up only 29% of the STEM workforce, despite being 50% of the U.S. workforce. Despite excelling in STEM subjects, girls begin opting out as young as third grade as they lose confidence that STEM is for them.

Our programs and partnerships focus on cultivating STEM confidence. We support girls in exploring and pursuing STEM careers. At the Imagine Your STEM Future event, in partnership with Technology First, SOCHE, and FASTLANE, Girl Scouts in fourth grade and up participated in hands-on STEM activities hosted by 18 local organizations.

When young Girl Scouts try STEM activities and learn the impact they make, their confidence and enthusiasm for STEM grows. Through Girl Scouts, girls develop an interest in pursing STEM careers to tackle some of the world’s biggest problems.

Support the next generation of STEM leaders!

Honoring Changemakers

Want to continue celebrating Girl Scouts becoming changemakers?

Join us for She Leads: A Celebration of Changemakers on Thursday October 10, 2024 from 8:00 - 9:30 a.m. at Kenwood Country Club, Cincinnati, Ohio.

March 20-April 14: Nominate a changemaker (girl or woman) to receive an award at our breakfast.
Become a sponsor or purchase a table or tickets to attend the breakfast.

Check out our website for more information.