How does a girl accomplish her goal of becoming an engineer? Defy stereotypes and become a firefighter, leading a team of heroes? Set in motion her dream of becoming the first person in her family to go to college when opportunity seems so far away?
How? It’s simple: Girl Scouts. Whether you sign your daughter up for a troop or sign yourself up as a volunteer, Girl Scouts offers a wide range of opportunities to brighten a girl’s future.
At Girl Scouts, girls are always counting down to the next adventure they’ll go on together. Maybe it’s artistic. Maybe it’s an experiment. Maybe it’s getting outside or helping the community. With Girl Scouts, she’ll make a bunch of new friends and have a ton of new experiences that show her how awesome she is, over and over again.
Girl Scouts of Texas Oklahoma Plains partners with 934 adult volunteers to serve more than 3,700 girls in the Amarillo area. We want to reach more girls than ever before, but we need more volunteers to do that.
It starts with one day, one meeting and one role model who helps girls develop skills and confidence that will last a lifetime. At Girl Scouts, we want every girl to feel so excited about her future that she can hardly wait for it, because she knows she can achieve anything she sets her mind to. That feeling starts with you. As a Girl Scout volunteer, you’ll introduce girls to new experiences that make every day the best day ever.
Savannah Gates, a local Pantex engineer, was not a Girl Scout as a child. But once she was introduced to scouting at our annual Women of Distinction Luncheon, she was hooked. Now a Girl Scout volunteer, Gates develops and leads STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) events for area Girl Scouts. She introduces girls to experiences that show them they’re capable of more than they imagined: “My favorite Girl Scout memory is of Smart Cookies Part II. Smart Cookies Part I was spent cracking their shells and tapping into their creativity. By Part II, their imaginations were running wild, and magic was happening right before our eyes. The girls had a newly found confidence and drive in problem-solving and creating. It was nothing short of fantastic to witness!”
Girl Scouts is making the world a better place while making a lasting impression in the lives of volunteers and girl members. Demonstrating this, recent Girl Scout research shows that 94 percent of Girl Scout volunteers and 97 percent of girl members think Girl Scouts provides them with new, fun and exciting experiences. About 95 percent of Girl Scout volunteers are happy knowing that they are making girls’ lives better, and they feel they are making a difference in the lives of girls because they volunteer with Girl Scouts.
When asked about what motivates her to volunteer with Girl Scouts, Gates said: “If women make the world go ’round, and children are the future ... what better way to work toward a better future than by investing in girls today?”
Whether you can give a day, a few weeks or the whole year, it all starts with you.
Let’s get more girls in Amarillo exploring, imagining, and doing amazing things.
To join or volunteer, visit www.girlscouts.org/join.
Becky Burton is CEO of Girl Scouts of Texas Oklahoma Plains.