Dove Self-Esteem Day this Saturday, October 22nd from 10am - 1pm at Camp Choee, in association with the National Dove Self-Esteem Weekend, will encourage all women and girls to develop a positive relationship with beauty to help raise their self-esteem, and thereby enabling them to realize their full potential. Girl Scouts are encouraged to bring a non-Girl Scout friend for FREE activities such as:

• Body Beautiful!
• Moves & Groves
• The Mind Makeover
• Girl Talk
• Sugar Body Scrubs
• Culture Catwalk, and many more!

Join us this Saturday, October 22nd from 10am - 1pm 

at Camp Choee, 11347 SW 160th ST, Miami, 33157. 

It's a FREE event!

The first 600 Girl Scouts to register themselves and a friend will receive a free Journey book to share and the non-Girl Scout friend will receive her first year of Girl Scout membership for free! 

To register, please contact Lois Auerbach at lauerbach@girlscoutsfl.org or 305-253-4841 ext 252.

Girl Summit Addresses Girls' Body Image

AMONTOYA@MIAMIHERALD.COM

Girls should ignore popular images of feminine beauty and create their own idea for what women should consider beautiful, speakers at a Girl Scout summit said Saturday.

“Girl Summit Live Healthy/Lead Healthy,” hosted by the Girl Scouts of Tropical Florida, covered a range of topics, including the role of social media, movies and reality TV on society’s perceptions of beauty, sexualization of women in the media, and lifestyles and role models that promote emotional well being.

“Each day, girls are bombarded with media images that endorse negative messages that affect girls’ self esteem,” said Irela Bague, chairwoman of the Girl Scout Council of Tropical Florida. “Girl Scouts seek to expand girls’ positive media images.”

Nearly 300 people attended the summit, held on Jungle Island in Miami, among them Florida Girl Scouts and their parents, community members and representatives from each of the seven Girl Scout Councils of Florida.

Donna Shalala, president of the University of Miami, and 2008 Miss America Kirsten Haglund were the featured speakers at the event. A panel of 11 women experts held the discussion.

“I want you to take pride in yourself and believe in yourself. Make yourself strong inside because that will make a big difference in your life,” Shalala told the audience of scouts and moms.

Shalala has more than 30 years of experience as an accomplished scholar, teacher and administrator. She served eight years as the U.S. secretary of health and human services, as well and three years in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

She told the girls in the audience to ignore negative TV images and instead try to develop a healthy and realistic perception of beauty.

According to the Girl Scout Research Institute, 90 percent of girls say the fashion industry and the media place a lot of pressure on them to be thin, and 46 percent of girls report significant distress about their body size and shape.

“The media that girls are consuming contain strong messages that girls’ worth is tied to their appearance,” said Yvonne McCormack-Lyons, one of the panelists at the event and president of the Women’s International Film and Arts Festival, which develops arts and film programs that empower women and girls.

Haglund closed the presentation with a speech about her personal struggle with an eating disorder. Having lived seven years with anorexia, she nearly died in the pursuit of thinness.

“I want to tell you right now that your body is not something you can mistreat because we only get one,” she said. “I can tell you from experience that being super thin only leads to unhappiness, malnutrition and eventually death.”

Today, Haglund is an advocate for increased awareness of eating disorders as a public health priority. She has served as the Goodwill Ambassador for the Children’s Miracle Network, and has lobbied for the Eating Disorders Coalition. Two years ago, she launched the Kirsten Haglund Foundation, whose mission is to provide treatment scholarships that assist families and individuals battling eating disorders.

“I want us to all leave here today with a power within ourselves to change the way that we let those images affect us. You can choose the standard of beauty that you want to have be culturally accepted,” Haglund said.

Rebecca Corbishley, 15, said the presentation will help her be a more effective Girl Scout leader. She has been a Girl Scout for about seven years.

“I’ve always known that the media obviously affects people, but when you see statistics and hear more about it from people working to stop it, I think it makes us more aware of the effects, and it definitely empowers us.”

Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/10/15/2455678/meeting-addresses-girls-body-image.html?story_link=email_msg#ixzz1b2ivrhGX

What Did You Do Today?

New "Tropical" Delight...

Gobsmack's inspired creations tease every bit of your palette with a cool and tangy lemon wedge crust, a sweet and tart pink lemonade center, topped with their gooey marshmallow fluff, signature "Savannah Smiles" cookie crumbles, and a fresh raspberry.


ABOUT GOBSMACK: Vicky Carballo and Liz Fernandez have dreamt of opening a business together since they were kids.  Last year, Vicky and Liz achieved their lifelong dream and launched the hugely successful Caper Diem Catering and Event Planning in Miami, Fl.  Watching this sister duo is like watching passionate artists at work.  The two sisters share a wonderfully dynamic and complementary working relationship:  Vicky, a trained chef oversees the catering side; and Liz, a seasoned PR vet manages event planning.  At every one of their events you will see these “masters of their domain” hard at work, always ensuring that everyone has a fantastic, and most importantly effortless time.

Earlier this year, Vicky and Liz took the success of their decadent and gastronomically complex desserts and launched “Gobsmack Sweets”, the devilishly sweet little sister of Caper Diem; a division that would focus solely on mastering the art of the three-bite mini cheesecake; a staple of the Caper Diem menu.   Vicky's OMG-inducing "Gobsmacks" consist of delectable best-sellers like "Luscious Guava", "Triple Chocolate", "White Chocolate Raspberry", and "Nutella Dulce De Leche".  The best part is, they're so small and satisfying you can try them all and not feel as if you have to spend the rest of the day working off the guilt.   Flavors are ever-evolving, so follow them on Facebook and Twitter for updates and exclusive offers.

Sales at the present time are limited only to the South Florida area.  You can order your own Gobsmacks via their website: Gobsmacksweets.com

Girl Summit for the Future of Girls

You won't want to miss this!
For more information and to register, visit www.girlscoutsfl.org.

Standout Alumnae Sought

As part of the kickoff for our centennial celebration at convention, GSUSA wants to recognize Girl Scout alumnae from all 112 councils and of all stripes--and they need your help. Please submit a bio and headshot of a resident alumna to be highlighted at convention, selected for her exceptional track record in her chosen line of work or service to the community. Award-winning writers, scientists, and sports coaches; teachers and humanitarian aid workers… All professional titles and experiences are welcomed. Bios/headshots should be sent to 100@girlscouts.org by August 30.

Girl Scouts of the USA Receives 2011 Distinguished Achievement Award

GSUSA’s Program team is delighted to announce that Girl Scouts of the USA has received a 2011 Distinguished Achievement Award from the Association of Educational Publishers.

All six It’s Your Story – Tell It! journey girl books were nominated for the 2011 AEP Distinguished Achievement Award in the category of “Curriculum – Life Skills and Character Education” and the Girl Scout Daisy book, 5 Flowers, 4 Stories, 3 Cheers for Animals!, the Girl Scout Brownie book, A World of Girls, and the Girl Scout junior book, aMUSE were all chosen as winners in the Preschool to 5 Category!

For more than four decades, the AEP Awards have honored outstanding resources for teaching and learning in all media and for any educational setting. Award winners meet the highest standards for quality, professional content for education and represent the most innovative learning solutions currently on the market. One of the largest and longest-running programs of its kind, the AEP Awards and its seal of excellence are widely recognized by educators, administrators, and parents as a mark of outstanding educational value. Find out more at www.AEPweb.org/awards.

Video: 100 Years of History

Girl Scouts Rock the Mall

The Girl Scout Council of the Nation's Capital and Girl Scouts of the USA plan to celebrate our 100th anniversary in true Girl Scout fashion: with song. Join us as we celebrate our centennial at Girl Scouts Rock the Mall: 100th Anniversary Sing-Along on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., Saturday, June 9.

Since the Girl Scout Movement was founded in 1912 by Juliette Gordon Low, we have lifted our voices in song to celebrate friendship and express our commitment to girls' leadership. The Girl Scouts has a long tradition of holding sing-alongs on the National Mall, having assembled there for our 85th, 90th, and 95th anniversaries.

On these occasions, more than 250,000 Girl Scouts have lined the National Mall and sung some of our favorite Girl Scout songs, enjoyed the special music, and joined together to celebrate the strength of the Girl Scout Movement.  We hope you will become a part of this resounding tradition.

Details for registration and hotel accommodations are coming soon. In the meantime, please spread the word about our upcoming centennial event. The Girl Scout Council of the Nation’s Capital has already started—by holding a flash-mob dance in the main hall of Union Station in Washington, D.C. to announce the date of the sing-along next June and by holding a press conference, which you can check out here (press conference).

Links:

Girl Scouts Rock the Mall Web

Rock the Mall Facebook page           

We look forward to seeing you there!

The Power of the Cookie

Another Girl Scout cookie season has come and gone and as always I am inspired to express my gratitude to our community for continuing to support the future of girls in Miami-Dade & Monroe Counties.

As we prepare to celebrate our 100^th Year of Girl Scouting, I reflect on how this whole cookie business came about and how it impacts the lives of girls.

The cookie sale was a way to finance troop activities after Juliette Gordon Low started Girl Scouting in 1912. It all started in 1917, in the kitchens of our early girl members and their mothers. The cookie sale became and still is an American tradition. Today, the marketing and promotions have changed with the impact of social media and girls tare using these tools to sell and sell more. There is now a Cookie App dedicated to locating Girl Scout cookie stands by zip code. There is no question that Girl Scouts are moving fast into the 21st century.

Some people only tend to see a group of cute girls at their local supermarket selling cookies but behind the boxes of Thin Mints, Samoas and Trefoils there is that first encounter into the world of business. The cookie sale provides an important ingredient for forming leadership skills, goal setting, decision making, money management, people skills and business ethics.

Most Girl Scouts start selling cookies as a young Daisy Girl Scout and as they move on to Junior, Cadette, Senior and Ambassador levels, they are selling well over a 1,000 boxes. Whether or not these girls stay in the organization through adulthood, a Girl Scouts walks away from their first cookie sale with a ton of business experience and an improved sense of self-worth and accomplishment.

It is no wonder that many of our Girl Scouts grow up to be top leaders and successful business women in our country. From top CEO’s like Val Ackerman, President of the WNBA to Hilary Clinton, former First Lady, U.S. Senator and currently our Secretary of State to powerful performers like Mariah Carey and sports figures like Venus Williams, they were all Girl Scouts who became leaders and have opened doors for more girls.

So, the next time you see a cute little “Daisy” selling cookies at your local grocery store, buy a box or a case because you are investing in our mission of creating girls of courage, confidence and character that make the world a better place and you never know she may just end up being your President one day.

Irela Bagué
Board Chair
GSCTF

How Far Can A Girl Scout Go?