Supporting Female Excellence: GSCCC Scholarship Awarded

Girl Scout Ambassador Jazzlyn Childs of Troop 4020 is the first recipient to be awarded funds from the She Believes She Can, So She Does Scholarship. The fund was launched two years ago with a gift from Kate Godby, a Girl Scout alum and member of the Juliette Gordon Low Society. Jazzlyn was presented a scholarship certificate at the 2019 Famous Formers Luncheon.

The She Believes She Can, So She Does Scholarship fund was launched two years ago with a gift from Girl Scout Alum Kate Godby. It is available to girls who have been a Girl Scout for the past three membership years and have plans to pursue higher education or vocational training, fueling the leadership and workforce pipeline.

“I was thrilled to be able to award the very first She Believes She Can, So She Does Scholarship,” Kate Godby said.

As part of her scholarship application, Jazzlyn wrote an essay and included what receiving the scholarship would mean to her.

“If awarded this scholarship, it will allow me to continue to grow, mature and continue to walk the path of the Girl Scout Law and Promise. This scholarship will assist me in going to college so that one day I can be an adult capable of strength in the face of adversity, capable of giving back to the community, capable of being an example to others as my mom is to me. I don't expect the college experience to magically transform me into a wise and all-knowing adult. But I am relying on it to help me explore the world of ideas.”

Congratulations, again, to Jazzlyn who is also working on her Girl Scout Gold Award!

See photos from the 2019 Famous Formers Luncheon >>

ICYMI: 2019 Famous Formers Luncheon

Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast hosted our annual Famous Formers Luncheon yesterday afternoon. We celebrated the success and commitment to leadership demonstrated by our 2019 Famous Former honorees. Their guests, other Girl Scout alum, legislative representatives, and other local Girl Scout supporters were in attendance at Hilton Norfolk The Main for the occasion.

During the reception, Gold Award Girl Scout Jazzlyn Childs received the She Believes She Can, So She Does Scholarship to support her interest in higher education. We also awarded Townebank as our very first Corporate G.I.R.L. Champion. The acronym stands for go-getter, innovator, risk-taker, and leader. Townebank has consistently contributed to community initiatives and a workplace culture that provides opportunities for girls and women to thrive, following our Girl Scout ideals!

Keynote speaker Dr. Patricia Turner delivered a captivating speech about the mistreatment she faced as a young girl integrating into a predominantly white high school at the height of mass resistance in Virginia. Despite years of bullying from her peers, teachers, and some neighborhood children, Dr. Turner excelled in academics. She graduated in the top of her high school class, graduated cum laude in her college mathematics program, and went on to earn her Master's degree.

"Your story speaks to the values of inclusion, understanding, and equality that Girl Scouts strive to represent," GSCCC CEO Tracy Keller said following Dr. Turner's keynote speech. 

Prior to the reception, our GSCCC staff had an opportunity to speak at length with her about her life before becoming a member of the Norfolk 17. She spoke warmly about the role of her family and Girl Scouts in building the character and confidence she needed to overcome the challenges that she later faced in life. "Girl Scouting taught you how to talk to people, how to share your feelings, and how to get along with others. It taught us that if someone is bullying you, that is not the world. You can overcome this," Dr. Turner shared.

We would love to know how Girl Scouts has impacted YOUR life, too! Share your Girl Scouts story with us on social media!

See photos from the 2019 Famous Formers Luncheon >>

Gold Award Spotlight: Peer Tutoring for Spanish Speaking Students

Congratulations to Cameron Hart, a graduate of Oscar Smith High School, who has earned her Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest honor and achievement a girl can earn in Girl Scouts.

For her Gold Award project, Peer Tutoring for Spanish Speaking Students, Cameron addressed the topic of global citizenship. She assisted Spanish speaking students with learning the English language and assimilating into American culture. 

Cameron led a peer-tutoring session for ESL (English as a Second Language) students.  She gathered the information and concepts from the Virginia Standards of Learning so the students would be up to date on the correct information.  She created pre-test, post-test and multiple activities.  Cameron made sure to evaluate her peer-tutoring program by providing surveys to ESL students and then improving the lacking aspect of her program. 

She also assisted the ESL students to connect with the community by organizing events.  Cameron planned meetings where they would discuss global topics with the ESL students, peer-tutors and adult mentors.    

Cameron compiled a binder with material used throughout her project, so members of the local Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority can continue to support this project further and use her peer-tutoring program.

Gold Award Spotlight: Women's Empowerment Club

Congratulations to Gold Award Girl Scout Olivia from Moyock, North Carolina! She has earned the highest honor and achievement a girl can earn in Girl Scouts – the Gold Award. Olivia is a rising junior at JP Knapp Early College and the daughter of Katherine and John McDonald.

After noticing a need for an all-girl safe space in her community, much like the one Girl Scouts has provided her with, Olivia decided to create a “Women’s Empowerment Club” for her Gold Award project. The club members, made up of girls at her school, became pen pals with girls at a local elementary school which allowed them to send empowering communication messages on topics such as bullying prevention. By being pen pals with the younger girls, Olivia and her friends became positive role models.

Along with implementing the pen pal activity, Olivia also organized a women’s empowerment event that included meditation, self-defense and other improvement activities.

“The most successful aspect of my project was creating a safe place for students,” she explained. “I noticed that during our meetings, students felt much more comfortable talking about their struggles with certain issues.”

Olivia’s project will be sustained through the school with organized positions available for club members.

Help GSCCC recycle 40,000 bags!

GSCCC is partnering with Trex Company, Inc. to recycle 500 pounds of plastic bags (that’s over 40,000 bags!) from now until April 22, 2020 (Earth Day). If we hit our goal by the deadline, Trex will donate an outdoor bench made of recycled bags to us! Help us make the world a greener place.

Here is how you can help:

• Collect your plastic bags
• Weigh your bags using a luggage scale or food scale from your kitchen
• Drop the bags off at any Food Lion location in southeastern Virginia or northeastern North Carolina
• Email the weight of the bags to philanthropy@gsccc.org