Discover, Connect and Take Action III

Take Action is where the rubber meets the road. A goal without a plan is just an unfulfilled wish. As girls “Discover” and “Connect” they will see areas in our world that need their attention, problems that need to be solved and wrongs that need to be righted.  If we only bring girls to awareness, then we have not done our job. Girls must be empowered to Take Action to make the world a better place. 

  
Because all of the programs and activities in Girl Scouting are age-appropriate, the action steps are geared to a girl’s capacity.  As an example, let’s take the issue of bullying – something that receives a lot of press these days, and is one of Girl Scouts of Nassau’s County’s priorities in our Critical Issues Initiative. 

Action for a girl in kindergarten might be to recognize that someone is being bullied or picked-on, and then just going to an adult to get help.  For girls in elementary school, action might include befriending someone who is the target of aggression or even speaking out. By middle-school and high school, girls have more skills and confidence, they will be better able to identify problems and speak up. Their actions could go even further and involve designing and delivering programs to other girls on bullying or working with the leadership of their schools to make sure that policies are in place and implemented to protect all students.

 

Another example of age-appropriate action might be around water conservation and pollution. 

Younger girls can do something as simple as learning to turn off the water while they brush their teeth. Elementary girls can understand the importance of using refillable bottles for water.  Older girls might work with their schools and neighborhoods to reduce the use and availability of disposable water bottles through regulations and enforcement. And others might look at the plight of those areas of the world that do not have adequate drinking water and work to bring water to the people there.  A girl’s actions might be to raise money for equipment, or she might become an engineer and install the equipment and then teach the local people how to use it …
 
There is no end to the ways that all of us can and should Take Action.  Through Girl Scouting girls develop fundamental values that help them to understand their place in the world and the importance of God, country, truth, justice, and responsibilty . Girls gain skills that enable them to analyze problems and devise solutions.  

Discover, Connect and Take Action – These are qualities that will enrich a girl’s life, and an adult’s world too. Come join the fun of Girl Scouts … no matter your age!