Disappointed by the way Girl Scouts are often portrayed in the media or viewed by the public, Naomi Allen, a go-getter from Grand Junction, took the lead to set the record straight. She wrote the following letter to the editor of her local newspaper, The Daily Sentinel. The letter was published both online and in the paper’s printed edition.
Portrayal of Girl Scouts in editorial was off base
I wanted to point out misinformation in your editorial about the Eagle Scout award and how it relates to the Girl Scouts. I have been a Girl Scout for more than seven years, and I have learned how to tie knots, shoot arrows, taken a cyber-security class at the Grand Junction Police Department and trained with a former female Spartan athlete at Girl Scouting events.
The one and only time I have sewed anything in Girl Scouts is stuffed bears to send to Syrian refugees. Home economics is an incorrect and outdated comparison to what Girl Scouts are like today and, as an active Girl Scout, I was deeply troubled to learn that this is how Girl Scouts are viewed.
The Girl Scout Gold Award is a prestigious award, though less recognized than the Eagle Scout Award. It is an 80-hour award that must be sustainable and benefit the community. Having your Gold Award can earn scholarships, assist with college applications, and automatically puts you one rank higher in the military.
Eagle Scouts may be astronauts, CEOs and powerful politicians, but female Scouts are in positions of power all over the world. The CEO of IBM is a former Girl Scout. Sally Ride, and the majority of female astronauts were Girl Scouts. Five out of six female governors in the United States are former Girl Scouts. And cookies? I’ve sold thousands of dollars worth of cookies, learned money management skills, and cold calling selling skills. We will use that money to go to Costa Rica with my Girl Scout troop where we will be performing local service projects.
Girl Scouts aren’t just cookie-selling little girls. We are strong leaders, CEOs, astronauts, engineers, and, most importantly, we are the future.
NAOMI ALLEN Grand Junction