Women Helping Women: Celebrating Mentoring Monday with the Kansas City Business Journal

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By Joy Wheeler, CEO

They say the best leaders are always looking for their replacements. They share their strength, and they help pull others up. But examples of that are sometimes hard to showcase in what can sometimes be a divisive world. Strong mentoring programs and opportunities like the Mentoring Monday event today helps support and encourage the next generation of leaders.

Bizwomen’s Mentoring Monday – February 24, 2020
In that spirit, Girl Scouts was proud to be a national sponsor for all Bizwomen’s Mentoring Monday events across the country. Did you know that the Kansas City event is the largest with more than 400 who attended today? What a thrill to bring some of our Girl Scouts to this incredible event where they joined with other women to participate in table discussions with topics like time management or how to effectively communicate your message. Following these discussions, our Girl Scouts participated in one-on-one speed coaching sessions with some of the most influential women in the local business community. The atmosphere was spirited and powerful as everyone gained career insights and made new connections.

Mentoring only enhances what a Girl Scout brings to the table 

  • Did you know that Girl Scouts are twice as likely to have a bachelor’s degree?
  • Did you know that Girl Scouts earn 23% more than other women?
  • Did you know that Girl Scouts are more likely to pursue STEM careers, become civic leaders and own businesses?

Yes, all true! The Girl Scouts I had the honor to bring with me today include a Gold Award (the highest honor a Girl Scout can earn after researching, planning and implementing a sustainable project benefitting her community or beyond) Alum who is in her second year of medical school; three 2020 Gold Award Girl Scouts – one will be headed to Michigan State in the fall to pursue a degree in logistics and supply chain management, another a junior in high school and already planning her college path to be in engineering and the other graduating high school early and looking toward a future path pursuing a psychology degree. Two of our Girl Scouts are future Gold Award Girl Scouts and are high achieving in every aspect from their educational accomplishments to their advocacy for others. I was so proud to watch these leaders soak up every moment and connect with inspiring women across our community. Today is what it is all about – standing up for girls, supporting and mentoring the next generation of our world’s leaders!

Joy Wheeler (center) wiht the Girl Scout attendees of the Mentoring Mondays event in Kansas City.

What our next generation says about the power of mentoring

The following quotes are from our Girl Scouts who attended today.

“I love hearing about her leadership journey, how she got there, tips and what you have to push through to accomplish your career goals.”

“The advice I loved and will carry with me is to always be curious and be your own advocate.”

“You don’t always have to be perfect. Don’t say no to something just because you think you don’t have every single skill listed. Don’t be afraid to fail and learn from it.”

Powerful mentoring happens every day
Girl Scouts connects girls with businesses and organizations in our community for opportunities and experiences lead by female role models. She experiences STEAM, Entrepreneurship, Civic Engagement and Outdoor Adventure. Girls can decide for THEMSELVES what their future career options can be. She gains the courage, confidence and character to move gender bias and stereotypes aside in pursuit of HER dream.

Unleash the power of girls
We have a collective responsibility to support the next generation of leaders. Women and girls make up 51% of the population. And when we unleash our power by supporting one another fully, we become the change we need to see in the world. That’s why Girl Scouts ARE the 51% solution! Join with us and stand up for girls!

Reaching for the Stars: Girl Scout Destination – Alyssa R.

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As a Girl Scout, you learn to shoot for the stars and excel in your passions. Girl Scout Senior, Alyssa R., a 10th grader in Olathe, KS, decided to go for the stars in an exciting Astronomy Destinations experience during the summer of 2019! Alyssa met 9 other Girl Scouts from around the country in Oregon to find out what it means travel like a Girl Scout.

Alyssa began her Girl Scout experience as a Daisy Girl Scout in North Carolina before moving to Kansas City and joining the troop she’s still with as a Junior. “For me, Girl Scouts lets me meet a wide community of people who all think differently,” Alyssa said – something that has helped her see other perspectives throughout her life. One of her favorite things about being a Girl Scout has been the outdoor and STEM experiences she’s been able to have – including a rock climbing camping adventure in Arkansas as part of one of our council trips. That led her to wanting to explore more with Girl Scouts and she soon found that a Destination would be the best option.

The application process was one that Alyssa prepared for and later found out that her preparation and thoughtful answers helped her get accepted. “The staff talked to us about our essays and gave us back what we wrote, then told us that we all put in more than the basics, which helped us get selected. We put in why we wanted to do it, why we were interested in astronomy and a STEM career,” Alyssa said. This experience helped her get a taste of what college applications will be like and now knows she has an edge after hearing about what stood out to the staff.

After being accepted, Alyssa made her way to Oregon and toured the coast, which included a stop at Seaside Beach. The group arrived at Pine Mountain Observatory for STEM activities and camped for 5 days Deschutes National Forest. Over the course of 9 days, in addition to camping, the girls did constellation walks, volunteered at two public observation nights, learned about wavelengths, performed several experiments and even went white water rafting! Overall, the experience let her try new things, meet new friends and get a feel for what a career in astronomy might look like.

During the Destination, she met Girl Scouts from all over the country and they still have a very active group chat. She also walked away with a new appreciation for her passion for astronomy and the confidence of travelling without parents or friends. “A Destination is a great thing to experience at this age since it’s nice to learn to travel without parents or friends to rely on,” Alyssa said.

She would encourage other Girl Scouts to “find a Destination that interests you…and just go for it!” Her biggest tip is “[…]be truthful in what your interests are, express interest [on the application] and proofread your submissions,” said Alyssa. We love those tips and know they’ll help other Girl Scouts rock those Destinations applications – and maybe some college or job applications too!  Thanks, Alyssa, for sharing your awesome Girl Scout Destinations experience!

Are you interested in a Girl Scout destination? Check out some of the awesome places Girl Scouts travel and get ready for the next round of the application process!

Finding Herself in the Wilderness: Autumn’s Girl Scout Destination Story

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When you’re an outdoor focused Girl Scout, there’s nothing more exciting than traveling halfway across the country to one of the most beautiful national parks in the world! That’s exactly what Girl Scout Ambassador, Autumn S. from Leawood, Kansas did when she was accepted into the Maine Wilderness Destination during the summer of 2019!

Autumn applied for the Destination after learning about the awesome opportunities Girl Scouts offered for travel. Rather than preparing her answers separately, she sat down and completed the application and essay at once, really thinking about her answers and writing from the heart. “I was just in a writing groove and just did it all at once, I knew what I wanted to say,” Autumn said with a smile.

That passion ended up getting her accepted into the program and she traveled to Maine to meet up with 10 other Girl Scouts from around the country for a 12-day experience she’ll never forget. Over the course of the 12 days the girls camped at Camp Natarswi, a Girl Scout camp in Maine, sitting at the base of Mt. Katahdin. Autumn had two experiences that challenged her in different ways, the easier one being the ice caves that they ventured to. It was a short hike away and she had some great teambuilding experiences with that challenge because the girls had to help each other cross the ice.

The second adventure Autumn experienced was definitely a challenge – summiting Mt. Katahdin. Thanks to great staff leadership the girls were able to conquer the summit, with a fun little chant of “What are we going to do? SUMMIT!” along the way. Those staff members, especially Scrapper and Steve, helped her have a really amazing and empowering experience. “Looking back, I’m able to say, ‘wow, I really did that,’” Autumn said. In addition to those adventures, the group also got to go white water rafting and camp with new friends.

Autumn returned to KC with a new friend group (with an active group chat) and new confidence that has led her to new opportunities. “I applied for the Teen Leadership Circle at the Council and I’m not sure I would have done that if I hadn’t gone on the Destination,” Autumn said. She believes that this Destination experience helped her become a more confident person and encourages other Girl Scouts to give it a shot.

“Girl Scouts has great experiences that it’s hard to get anywhere else. With a Destination, there are so many trips, you can find what’s right for you. Just go and have fun. You never know what you’ll find,” Autumn said. Now that Autumn has had an amazing Destinations experience, her next big Girl Scout adventure is looking toward her Gold Award. She completed a Silver Award by painting chairs for Solace House and using funds she raised for this project. This Girl Scout is certainly going places! Thank you, Autumn, for sharing your amazing journey! Are you interested in a Girl Scout destination? The next application deadline is February 15!

Holiday Volunteering that Counts

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By GSKSMO CEO, Joy Wheeler

Holiday music, religious observances and all the lights tend to get most people thinking charitably this time of year. And while some organizations rely on extra volunteers and contributions during November and December, most of them need help year-round.

Have you thought about where your own instincts to volunteer and contribute came from? I suspect many of you can trace your earliest philanthropy exposure to the Girl Scouts – whether you were a Girl Scout or watched your mom, your sisters or your classmates in action. I couldn’t wait for the holiday season to arrive when I would join my Girl Scout sisters to spread cheer with carols, crafts, conversation and treats with our community’s nursing home residents.

Northeast Kansas and Northwest Missouri communities benefit greatly from the contributions of Girl Scouts. Our 22,000 girls gave an average of 30 hours each this year, doing things like helping with environmental cleanup, supporting pet adoption organizations, holding food drives, collecting personal care items, making sandwiches for the homeless, and attacking hunger with the Harvesters. And yes, they’ll step those efforts up in December, with caroling, nursing home visits and special cards for veterans.

Girl Scouts at Harvesters giving back to our community!

All told, they’ll give more than 600,000 hours this year. And what do you think would happen if those hours went away? How would that impact our most vulnerable populations? Ultimately, how would the absence of this experience change the way the next generation of women operates in their communities?

The leaders at Harvesters – The Community Food Network – can give you an idea. Girl Scouts were responsible for about 1 of every 50 volunteer hours during the agency’s last fiscal year. According to their Communications Manager Gene Hallinan, Harvesters depends on Girl Scouts. “Without them, we would have to hire more staff and would not be able to reach the number of people we do today.”

What’s more, through multiple events with Harvesters throughout the year, Girl Scouts get an education on the challenge of hunger. With hands-on programs like Maddi’s Fridge, they come to understand that one in six U.S. children don’t know whether they’ll eat tomorrow. And they’re inspired when they can translate that to their own neighborhoods to make a difference.

“What you hope is that this kind of experience – started early – will inspire girls to give back and to grow up and be community supporters,” says Gene, “teaching their own children to give back, too.” (By the way, Gene is a lifelong Girl Scout volunteer herself. She serves as an advisor to girls working toward their Gold Award.)

Now that’s exactly the way Girl Scouts builds courage, confidence and character. It’s exactly how we turn out women who are leaders in business and philanthropy. And it’s exactly how we’re delivering the 51% solution to our communities now and in the future. As you consider how you’ll pitch in this holiday season, I hope you’re inspired by these go-getter girls, too.

5 Things YOU CAN DO to Support Women’s Entrepreneurship

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By GSKSMO CEO, Joy Wheeler

You’re likely to read a lot about today being Women’s Entrepreneurship Day. It’s a great way to celebrate the amazing contributions women-owned businesses make to our economy.

Every day is Women’s Entrepreneurship Day for the Girl Scouts. Empowering girls to become leaders is what we’re all about. And it’s never too early to start.

A few weeks ago, I watched as kindergarten and first-grade girls begin their entrepreneurial learning journey at our Daisy Cookie College. They practiced simple skills like how to count change, budget their snack money and talk with customers. These are 5- and 6-year-old girls! And they’re already learning the five pillars of our own signature entrepreneurial training program: goal setting, decision-making, money management, people skills and business ethics.

I have no doubt some of these girls will reflect the trends noted in the Girl Scout Research Institute study released today. Many will be interested in becoming entrepreneurs, but three in four will come to believe their gender is a stumbling block. Although girls start out strong, they expect to experience less support for their entrepreneurial spirit as they age.

There is good news out there about the state of female entrepreneurship. There were more than twice as many women entrepreneurs in the United States last year than 20 years ago. And the stats are piling up about their success. Founders with women on their teams are performing better than all-male teams – 63% better for one venture capital firm.  And investors like Boston Consulting Group showed women in a start-up accelerator program generating exponentially more revenue than their male counterparts. Despite evidence like this, women-led startups receive just a fraction of the venture capital available.

Here are five ways you can influence this trend and make sure all girls have every opportunity to succeed when they grow up. The first four are summarized from Entrepreneur.com:

  1. Amplify women whose voices are unheard.
  2. Reach out to pull a woman up the ladder and into your circle.
  3. Leverage your social network to expand their reach.
  4. Become an angel investor or coach to open doors.

And the last idea is from me to you:

  • Support Girl Scouts. It’s the largest girl-development organization in the United States, and, as today’s study shows, it makes a measurable impact on girls’ leadership potential.

Helping girls enter the business and entrepreneurial workforce is beneficial for girls and the world. If girls are left out of the entrepreneurial space, they can suffer from long-term financial and career consequences that contribute to the leadership and wage gap between men and women. But when girls’ and women’s ideas on how to change the world are put into action, the economy gains revenue and society gains ingenuity.

Like myself, once an entrepreneur always an entrepreneur.  I know how much your support will mean to the next girl or young woman who is tempted to follow that entrepreneurial dream and make a meaningful difference for her community.

Silver Award Passion in Action

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Summer 2019 was one for the Girl Scout memory books for Girl Scout Seniors Parker V. and Emily N.! After traveling to Savannah, GA with their troop, then on the GSKSMO council-sponsored trip to Belize, Parker and Emily hopped on a plane back down to Central America for their Girl Scout Destination trip for two weeks of scuba diving, volunteering and working with sea turtles in Costa Rica and Panama!

This trip was inspired by their Silver Award where they worked to eliminate plastic waste polluting the ocean and endangering sea turtles. Parker and Emily partnered with Kindcraft turning bags into yarn that was used to create sleeping mats for the homeless, doubling the impact of their project!  

“I remember the day you told me about the trip!” Parker said to Emily. “We were at the first Girl Scout meeting of the year and we went to get something to drink and you said you heard about this thing you get to do where you go somewhere in the Pacific and to help sea turtles!”

Upon arrival they stayed overnight Outward Bound Costa Rica’s home base then traveled Bocas del Toro Panama where they stayed with a host family for seven days and earned their NAUI Scuba Certification.

Their countless scuba sessions included a 67 foot dive (their deepest), a shipwreck exploration where they saw nurse sharks and sand sharks under the boat and a night dive where they activated bioluminescent plankton!

“You go in the water and it is pitch black, but when you move around it glows green around you,” Parker explained. “Essentially they’re specks of dust that glow when you touch it,” Emily added. “It was so cool.”

When the girls weren’t scuba diving, they were volunteering at a K-8 school playing volleyball with kids during recess and doing beautification projects around the campus and community, ziplining through the rainforest, swimming on a hidden beach and bonding with their new Girl Scout friends and sisters.

The highlight of the first part of their trip was the cultural immersion experience sleeping on a dock over the pacific ocean of their host family. It was a very different experience from their time in Belize staying at resorts!

Sunrise view from the dock!

“We got there and there was no air conditioning, we made our own food and there was no electricity and the bathroom was a bucket bathroom. At night it was dark so dark but it was so beautiful,” Parker said. “We got to sleep on a dock under the stars!”

For the second half of their trip they headed to the San San-Pond Sak where they worked on sea turtle conservation efforts.

Their group arrived after nests had been moved from the beach and were being kept safe until the eggs hatched, and their job was to make it possible for the turtles to emerge after hatching.

Preparing nests to hatch successfully!

“You dug until you saw white, which were the little baby eggs, and then you loosely put the sand back in so they’re covered, but they can easily get out when they hatch,” Emily explained.

When the eggs hatched, they transported the sea turtles back down to the beach and helped release them into the ocean!

“You pick up a sea turtle and you lay it down and it just knows where to go, it’s awesome,” Parker said!

“We learned the faster you go, the more sea turtles you get to touch,” Emily added. “I released 13!”

Parker in the middle, pink; Emily second from the right in the back.

Throughout their 15 days together, Parker and Emily developed deep bonds with the six other Girl Scouts on the destination and their two guides. Each day girls would rotate jobs that helped the group function and bond. They ranged in duties from carrying the medicine bag to educating the group on cultural experiences to summing up the day with a powerful phrase, quote or words.

“Ohana means family and family means no one is left behind,” Emily and Parker said in unison. “That was one of our favorites.”

Their destination group. Emily in the middle in teal, Parker in the back in pink.

Each night they would pass around a string of eight wooden sea turtles, express their highs and lows of the day then give the necklace to someone who did something great for the group that day. At the end of the trip, the guides disassembled the string and created a necklace for each individual girl with one sea turtle on it. Their guides explained that they were all like a pack of baby sea turtles at the beginning of the trip, but by the end they had developed and grown and were ready to go out into the ocean on their own.

Parker and Emily have been back for three months but they’ve continued this nightly ritual, everyone texting the group with their highs and lows of the day.

Are you interested in exploration, service and sisterhood like Parker and Emily?! Learn more about Girl Scout Destinations and apply by the first deadline on November 15!  Don’t forget, you can use Cookie Dough, Cookie proceeds and there are scholarships available!

Innovators of Tomorrow

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Raising girls to be the innovators of tomorrow! There is no limit to how big a girl can dream when she’s a Girl Scout and thanks to a special partnership with civil engineering firm BHC Rhodes, girls are getting a unique STEM troop experience during the summer! The power of these partnerships is that they open a world of potential to girls at a young age. As engineer Katie Bushong said, “I hope [this program] can inspire other Girl Scout troops to partner with companies so the girls can gain exposure to other industries at a young age.”

This summer, Girl Scouts from around Kansas City joined a pop-up STEM group that visited BHC Rhodes and worked with staff to learn about engineering. Throughout the experience girls got a tour of the firm, learned what a surveyor does, engineered their own mini car, learned about concrete, fortified sand and other important materials in the engineering world. These hands-on experiences help girls learn about STEM careers and how they can thrive in the industry. “This was an opportunity for BHC Rhodes to partner with the Girl Scouts and show young girls what it is like to be an engineer,” Katie Bushong said.

The troop started with meeting the staff and touring the building. BHC Rhodes has a “no problems” philosophy, so they worked to instill that in the girls throughout the experience. They moved on to working on cars with different types of propellers, an activity which really made girls think outside the box! It ended with a fun race to see whose car could be the very best.

After learning about momentum, the next meeting was all about concrete! Girls learned the components of concrete, what makes it strong and even got to mix up their own batch. They used the concrete to create small concrete coasters with designs in the mold – so cool! A few meetings later, they popped the coasters out, sanded them and finished the bottoms with pads so they could be used on tables.

For their final meeting, the troop learned about fortified sand and got to play with water, sand and unexpected materials that make sand super strong! First they built normal sand castles, which would fall apart when little pressure was applied. Then they built castles again, but included layers of paper towel and cheesecloth to make the sand stronger. The girls put the 3 types to the test – regular, paper towel and cheesecloth – finding that the cheesecloth was the strongest. It was so strong the girls were able to push down quite hard on the castle without it breaking. What a cool activity!

Thanks to partnership like this, Girl Scouts are able to have experience they’re not able to get anywhere else! As Laura Bonar, talent development specialist at BHC Rhodes said, “we saw this as an opportunity to expand our reach with the youth and allow one of our summer interns a chance to create a program.” Building girls, businesses and our communities together – that’s the power of community partnerships. Together, we can build the STEM pipeline of the future. Learn more about STEM troops!

Celebrating the POWER of Girl

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By GSKSMO CEO, Joy Wheeler

Why am I Excited for International Day of the Girl?
Today is our opportunity to call special attention to major issues happening right now that supports this 100% youth-led movement for gender justice and youth rights. Gender inequality is a reality we can’t ignore and the issue isn’t confined to developing countries. The World Economic Forum ranks the United States 51st in terms of gender equality out of 149 countries! 

The United Nations established the official “International Day of the Girl Child” to help galvanize worldwide enthusiasm for efforts to improve girls’ lives, providing an opportunity for them to show leadership and reach their full potential. The U.S. Day of the Girl is a bold move on the part of girls and their supporters to break the cycle of discrimination and violence and promote and protect the full benefits of their human rights.

How are you celebrating? Is there something you can DO to make a difference? Yes, there is!

There is NO organization better aligned with these goals than Girl Scouts! We have the most experience in girl leadership development throughout the world. On this special day, we’re lifting up the Gold Award– a prestigious award earned by more than 1 million girls since 1916. Gold Award Girl Scouts are the visionaries and the doers who take on a major challenge project to “make the world a better place.” The Girl Scout Gold Award is the mark of the truly remarkable girl—proof that not only can she make a difference, but that she already has. Seniors and Ambassadors (9th-12th graders) who earn the Gold Award take action on issues that are of great concern to them and drive lasting change in their communities and beyond. They take on challenges as diverse as Alzheimer’s Disease education and support, teenage suicide intervention, environmental cleanup, literacy reading programs and STEM discovery.

Research shows that Gold Award Girl Scouts have more positive life outcomes as adult women– measured by volunteerism, community and civic engagement, education level and socioeconomic status. We can proudly claim the work of Gold Award Girl Scouts address the critical issues in today’s world head on.  Get inspired by watching Girl Scouts’ powerful 30 second PSA, The Mark of the Truly Remarkable and get to know some of our region’s Gold Award Girl Scouts. 

On this Day of the Girl, I ask you to Stand Up for Girls. You can take action right now! Contribute to Girl Scouts, volunteer as a community partner or mentor and contact ME to learn about our movement and become a Champion for Girls by joining the 51% Solution!

GSKSMO Troop Money Earning Guide

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As you kick off your Girl Scout year, you are likely starting to brainstorm activities and events that require funds. As you start planning for these expenses, we want to remind you of a few guidelines around money earning as a troop. Before you dive in, be familiar with the 5 Steps to Money Earning as a Girl Scout Troop!

Quick Checklist:

  • Participate in Council Product Programs: Candy, Nuts & Magazine and Cookies – These are the primary money earning sources for troops across our council and across the country.
  • Assess troop needs – You will be required to indicate how you will use the funds generated by your additional money earning activity. If you are earning money for a trip, complete your travel application and receive approval prior to fundraising initiatives.
  • Brainstorm with your troop what type of additional activities you want to do to earn money – The process should be girl led and age appropriate.
  • Complete your Money Earning Application – involve your girls in completing the application and share the questions with them
  • Determine if you need to purchase additional insurance for non-members (common in babysitting fundraisers) and do so at least 2 weeks prior to event.
  • Evaluate – How did it go?  What did your girls learn? Is this an activity you would recommend to another troop? Share your ideas and experiences.  

Do’s and Don’ts:

Do: Be creative, use your skills, talk to other troops, utilize your network, get parental permission and girl buy-in, follow all local health and safety laws as well Safety Activity Checkpoints.

Don’t: Fundraise for other organizations, endorse or campaign for any public or elected official, sell or endorse commercial products, use games of chance like raffles or lotteries, or solicit money or in-kind donations directly. This includes crowd funding like GoFundMe (the only exception is Girl Scouts with approval working on a Gold Award).

For more information on Troop Money earning, refer to Troop Leader Central or communicate with your Troop Experience Manager!  

STEMMy Awards

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by Joy Wheeler, CEO, Girl Scouts of NE Kansas and NW Missouri

Women in STEMM
I can’t tell you how excited I am to watch Girl Scout Supporter Panela Leung win a STEMMy Award from the Central Exchange today. These awards celebrate the accomplishments of all women in Kansas City who are setting trends and breaking barriers in their STEMM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics or medicine) fields.

We nominated Panela as an Enterprising Innovator in the technology field, based on her work as a go-getter and innovator helping fuel the pipeline of STEMM leaders. Her business, Generation Maker Lab, supports girls and boys, and she puts a laser focus on the engagement of girls. She volunteers her time to lead local Girl Scouts astronomy programs, expertly helping girls see the power of STEMM and how their ideas and big thoughts can be put into action. She is truly building the pipeline and showing girls what is possible by sharing about her career and community work and providing hands-on activities that capture the imagination.

Panela Leung supports our Astronomy Club Girl Scouts in creating a brand new “Reach for the Stars” mural at Camp Tongawood.

Did you know that women make up 50 percent of the college-educated workforce but hold only 24 percent of the STEMM jobs in Kansas City? In the manufacturing sector alone, the country is short 1 million workers right now, and that number is multiplying. How do we think we’re going to close that gap if we don’t harness the potential of ALL potential workers, including our future females who will enter the workforce.

Girl Scouts is how. As we prepare girls for a lifetime of leadership, we have pledged to build the STEM pipeline by 2.5 million girls by 2025. The STEM programming we provide girls from Kindergarten to age 18 is critical to keeping young girls who are interested in STEM pursuing that dream.

Just a few examples: We have dozens of badges in STEM-related categories, such as Naturalist, Digital Art, Science and Technology, Innovation and Financial Literacy. And we hold numerous community partner events, where girls get hands-on with the practical application of fields like computer programming, science, engineering and finance.

So, we send kudos to Central Exchange for recognizing local women for STEMMy leadership. And we join with them in the commitment to support The 51% Solution to our workforce challenges.