Greenwich Girl Scouts Celebrate Diversity

Nearly 100 Greenwich Girl Scouts explored the power of diversity with a slate of fun activities at the YWCA of Greenwich on Saturday evening. Held most Februarys, the “Girls Want to Have Fun” event this year tied diversity awareness to its neon-inspired theme, “Glow Your Own Way.”
Greenwich High School 9th graders of Troop 50540 conceived of the theme and planned activities to weave the message through a variety of athletic and creative activities for younger Girl Scouts.
The event drew Girl Scouts from across Greenwich. “This an event where all the girls in Greenwich can spend time together and intermingle as a whole. It is such great fun,” said a leader whose troop attended.

Older Girl Scouts from troops 50212, 50136, 50540, and 50376, grades 8-12, guided their younger scouting sisters through games and creative projects. Brightly decorated posters and thoughtful presentations, created by Greenwich High 9th graders in Troop 50540, encouraged guests to consider the power of equality and of how one’s own unique contributions can strengthen a group.

These positive lessons were well received by the Girl Scouts in elementary and middle school. The evening of swimming, games, and fun projects ended with a black-lighted glow-in-the-dark dance party. With the teen scouts encouraging attendees to always “Glow your own way,” girls exchanged traditional Girl Scout “SWAPS” (homemade pins) with friends old and new before departing for home under a balloon rainbow built by their hosts.

“It is a really fun experience that I look forward to all year. I love spending time with friends that I don’t get to see much outside of school. We really get to know each other and have fun. I also love all of the cool activities, especially the glow dance,” said Cecilia Orozco, age 8, of Brownie Troop 50303 and a student at North Street School.

The flexible format was praised by 10 year old Girl Scout Jane Shropshire of Troop 50303 and North Street School: “If you don't like the dance party, you'll go straight to SWAPS. In SWAPS, you give other troops little things that Girl Scouts call SWAPS... I have so much fun there.”
The chance to connect with others was appreciated by the young attendees. “I usually swim alone but at this event I have a chance to swim with my friends. It is nice that we can share these moments together,” noted Sienna Syed, age 9, a Junior Girl Scout of Troop 50303 at North Street School.

Sienna’s mother, Mimi, agrees. “I love that Sienna has this empowering experience in a casual environment with her friends. It is effortless and instrumental to send her the most important message “Girl power matters!” Maria Orozco of Greenwich added, “It’s a great opportunity to spend quality time with new and old friends and make lasting memories. I love all of the creative ideas for activities and am thankful that my daughter can be part of such a positive experience for young girls.”

For Troop 50540, Senior level scouts currently in 9th grade at Greenwich High, the planning and research started months ago. Demi Demakes explained that the event was part of a larger goal for her high-school aged troop. They had spent the fall working through a Girl Scout Journey, which is a study program created for older scouts who are preparing to target issues in their communities. “We planned this year’s ‘Girls Just Want to Have Fun’ event, our Girl Scout Journey Project, as a way to have fun with younger Girl Scouts and make an impact at the same time. Our Journey’s theme is sisterhood and diversity, and we incorporated that theme throughout the night.”

“We chose the theme of diversity to teach the girls an important life lesson while they are having fun with their friends,” explained Coco Whittle. “We felt that by teaching them this in a fun and friendly environment, they would always remember to treat everyone with respect.”
“Diversity,” added Audrey Mackay, “can be found everywhere and must be respected no matter what.”

Ava Nicoletti pointed out the theme’s multiple benefits: “We felt that the theme related to society as a whole, and to friendship,” she said, noting that the younger girls “will be exposed to diversity throughout their lives.”

Neha Iyer described how the troop carried this lesson through the event: “We displayed posters of women from different backgrounds and their contributions to our society to show that anyone, including women of diverse backgrounds, could do anything they set their minds to. Our theme involved glow in the dark decorations so we could show the girls that they can each glow their own way, have fun, and feel empowered to dream big and reach for the stars.”

Even the edible treats reflected the diversity focus. Neha recalled the cupcake decorating station, where the young girls were invited to create a unique design for one of the hundred cupcakes baked by the high school scouts.

Audrey Mackay had addressed the group, asking them to consider the variety of finished cupcakes. “Once you take a bite out of it they all taste pretty much the same, and in the end, they are all cupcakes. This is one example out of many of what diversity is…everyone looks different on the outside, but we are all human beings deserving of equality and equal treatment.”

The young women were joined in their efforts by numerous other teen Girl Scouts in older middle and high school grades, many of whom had run the event in past years in Greenwich. Sarah Peng, who created a slideshow of the event for the Greenwich Girl Scouts, noted that the teen volunteers also benefitted from their work: "I think it's a great way for all of the girls in Greenwich to come together and have fun. Also, the troop running it gains important experience about planning an event."

Working with younger girls had its own rewards, according to volunteer Katie Nedder: “It was fun to help the younger Girl Scouts.”

To start a Greenwich Girl Scouts troop, or learn more about Greenwich Girl Scouts, please visit http://www.greenwichgirlscouts.com