We want to take a moment to thank everyone who participated in #GivingTuesday and made it an overwhelming success, both for Girl Scouts of Western New York and the non-profit world as a whole.
Early results indicate that donations increased by nearly 40% over last year, for a total of $380 million raised in the United States. For those who gave to any charity, you were on of an estimated 3.6 million to donate. Talk about good company.
At Girl Scouts of Western New York, we saw both our number of donors and amount raised increase and we couldn’t be more excited. In fact, the total amount increased by more than 500%!
Words cannot express how grateful we are our supporters. Every donation helps us keep working toward our goal of building future female leaders. You’re helping to change the world, one dollar at a time.
Today marks the return to work after the Thanksgiving feasting and we sincerely hope you had a wonderful time with friends and family.
We want to take a chance to say again how thankful we are for you and your support of Girl Scouts of Western New York. The evidence of the Girl Scout difference is everywhere, including the recent election where 58% of the women elected to the House of Representatives were Girl Scouts. This is so incredible to hear and we know we can’t do it with you.
#GivingTuesday is the social revolution of generosity and it’s happening tomorrow! Your support helps us continue to make a difference in the lives of our girls. Consider giving today and join the global movement to celebrate giving back.
Our mission of building girls of courage, confidence, and character who make the world a better place is more than just words; we see it in action. Girl Scouts throughout Western New York continually live out our mission.
Consider Jaylah’s story, the Girl Scout pictured above.
As a Girl Scout Junior, this 11-year-old saw an issue in her community and decided to do something about it. When Jaylah heard plans to turn an out-of-business restaurant into a liquor store, she immediately took action.
Courageously speaking to elected officials at a community meeting, Jaylah said “We don’t want people building businesses in our neighborhood that don’t care about what is good for us.”
Her determination continued and she met with officials and obtained their signatures on a petition to shut down what would become the second liquor store in her community.
Her dedication paid off – soon after the liquor licenses was denied and there are no plans to move forward with that type of establishment.
Jaylah embodied all that we value in Girl Scouts through her courage to speak up for what’s right, her confidence to talk to groups and elected officials, and the character to stand her ground for what was right for her community.
Girls with confidence are more likely to speak their mind, believe in their intelligence, and desire to be a leader. Unfortunately, there’s a crisis of confidence happening among our girls. More than 60% of girls say they like to be in charge, but 33% admit to being afraid about leading so they aren’t perceived as bossy.
We live in a world where if a girl or woman asserts herself or her authority, she is being bossy. It’s a negative word based on gender stereotypes that strips everything good away from being a leader. As a young girl, being told you’re bossy is something to shy away from and you learn to act in ways that keep you from being labeled so harshly.
With self-confidence, you can disagree with a friend and not be concerned, but nearly 50% of all girls won’t say what they’re thinking or if they disagree because their desire is to be liked. Girls with the highest GPAs are the ones most likely to report feeling this way.
Help us change this.
With your support, we reach more and do more to turn this crisis of confidence around for our girls and help them realize just how smart and important they are. We work every day to create a space where they can grow and fail without judgement. We want to keep hearing stories of our girls being unafraid to stand up for what’s right even if it’s an unpopular opinion.
When you invest in Girl Scouts, you’re doing more than support an organization where girls do crafts and sell cookies. You’re helping to build the future generation of leaders. You’re changing the world.
Girl Scouts is more than just an activity for your girl. It can have life-changing effects on who she becomes and what she believes she can achieve. Take Maria’s story, for example.
Maria’s journey with Girl Scouts began in Puerto Rico, when she joined as a Daisy. Five years later, she’d leave her home and troop to move to the United States. Starting a new life in a country with strange language were only some of the obstacles facing Maria.
Research shows that a girl’s confidence sharply declines by more than 25% between fifth and ninth grade. Almost 50% of high school girls don’t believe they’re smart enough for their dream career. Even when a girl experiences the academic success of a 4.0 or higher, 1 in 3 will feel they aren’t good enough to pursue their passion.
Fortunately for Maria, she had Girl Scouts.
Once she arrived in Buffalo, her mother looked for a Girl Scout troop in the area. Finding none and understanding the importance, she started her own troop so Maria could develop the friendships she needed.
With her troop, Maria was able to enjoy experiences she never imagined would be possible, like white water rafting, learning how to code, walking on ropes courses, and discovering more about how the brain works.
Her fellow Girl Scouts became her community and support, and with the help of them and their leaders, she was able to learn English and graduate high school. Now in college, the distance doesn’t get in the way of the friendships she made as a Girl Scout. These relationships are one of a kind and even if they don’t talk for awhile, they always have each other’s backs.
The confidence Maria gained did more than help her learn English, take on the impossible, and form new friendships; it helped direct the course of her life.
The lack of women in STEM-related fields is no secret, but it’s alarming when you consider that 75% of girls believe they’re good at math and science, but only 45% consider it for a career.
Despite these odds, Maria had the confidence to pursue her passion. After attending a Girls Go to Neuro School event at the University of Buffalo, Maria was able to learn more about the mind and brain. This sparked an interested so she began doing more research on her own.
Now she’s a freshman psychology major on the pre-med route at Albany College.
Because of Girl Scouts, Maria realized she was smart enough, good enough, and confident enough. The activities she enjoyed were more than just fun excursions – they helped shape the course of her life.
You can help make a difference in the lives of our Girl Scouts.
Girl Scouts takes the potential of girls and combines it with robust skill-building programs that allow them to enjoy experiences outside of their comfort zones, like building a robotic arm, learning to survive outdoors, and growing a cookie business.
Your donation makes building girls of courage, confidence, and character who makes the world a better place possible. Thank you.
November is a month filled with promotions. What used to be shopping on Black Friday led to Cyber Monday and now you can shop amazing deals virtually the entire month long. With all this spending, why not welcome a chance to give back?
#GivingTuesday is a global movement that falls the week after Thanksgiving. It’s more than just donations; the movement is all about helping others whether it’s your time, monetary support, goods, or even your voice.
As a kick-off to the season of giving, this special day resonates around the world thanks to the power of social media. Together, we celebrate the spirit of generosity as well as the difference our philanthropy can make. Even though it’s a worldwide event, there are ways to get involved in your local community.
At Girl Scouts, we’re all about benefiting our community. In fact, its in our mission. We build girls of courage, confidence, and character who make the world a better place, and often the world falls in our own backyard. We believe that when our girls succeed, so does society.
You can be a part of our mission, too. Whether it’s your time or donation, your support makes a difference in the lives of our members. We need men and women dedicated to raising the next generation of female leaders who are willing to give their time, whether that looks like leading a troop or speaking as a subject-matter expert at an event.
Your financial support can give a girl the chance to see what she’s capable of and achieve more than she imagined possible. Every gift matters to our girls.
Consider making a difference this #GivingTuesday, November 27.
Girl Talk is a quarterly publication that highlights stories from around the council, whether it’s about girls, adults, programs, or partners! For our late fall publication, we highlight the amazing volunteers behind Skills and Chills, specifically Nancy Grimes, as well as our Women of Distinction event, our Cybersecurity event at RIT with Palo Alto, and an update from our CEO.
