Girl Scouts and other Groups Join a Global Movement to Create Lasting Worldwide Change
Posted: 11-04-2009 : RALEIGH, N.C.

Raleigh, NC – On Thursday, October 29, 2009, Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA) along with CARE International, Seventeen magazine and the Documentary Group hosted Learning to Lead, set into motion The Power of Girls, a ground-breaking partnership that will connect girls worldwide and mobilize them around important global issues, including the critical role that girls’ education and leadership plays in addressing poverty. The Power of Girls puts girls at the heart of a conversation about the most important issues of our time.

Experts, celebrities, media and invited guests gathered at GSUSA to discuss the importance of providing girls with opportunities and support to build education and leadership skills regardless of their geographic location. Moderated by Suchin Pak of MTV news, panelists included Cynthia Lloyd from the Population Council, Judy Schoenberg from the Girl Scout Research Institute, Stephanie Baric from CARE, and Award-winning actress Shohreh Aghdashloo.

“One of the great things about being a girl is the inherent connection we feel with one another, and the power we wield when we work together,” says Kathy Cloninger, chief executive officer, Girl Scouts of the USA. “By working with CARE and others, we’re helping girls in the United States understand what girls just like them are facing in countries all over the world, encouraging them to be advocates for one another and ultimately identifying solutions to some of the world’s most pressing problems – all from a girl’s perspective.”

At the heart of The Power of Girls is a pledge that urges American girls to learn about issues affecting girls worldwide and to and share their findings with friends. The pledge, which can be found at www.thepowerofgirls.com, places a particular focus on raising awareness of the barriers that prevent girls from going to school in developing countries, including lack of funding for schools and supplies; gender discrimination; and chronic poverty that pushes girls into the workforce at an early age. The goal is to collect 50,000 pledges by International Women’s Day 2011 (March 8).

“For nearly 100 years, Girl Scouts has been about developing girls’ leadership,” said Rusine Mitchell Sinclair, Girl Scouts North Carolina Coastal Pines CEO. “We’re proud to join hands with an initiative that will give girls the knowledge, skills, and values to become leaders in their own lives and communities, while helping them gain a global perspective.”

The Power of Girls commitment was first announced at this year’s Clinton Global Initiative meeting, which focused on investing in women and girls worldwide. As global girls’ issues continue to garner unprecedented attention among world leaders, CARE, Girl Scouts, Seventeen magazine and The Documentary Group aim to empower girls to think globally, connect with one another around the world and take action to make the world a better place for girls everywhere.

About Girl Scouts of the USA
Founded in 1912, Girl Scouts of the USA is the preeminent leadership development organization for girls with 3.6 million girl and adult members worldwide. Girl Scouting is the leading authority on girls’ healthy development, and builds girls of courage, confidence and character, who make the world a better place.

About Girl Scouts – North Carolina Coastal Pines
Girl Scouts – North Carolina Coastal Pines serves more than 31,500 girl members and 9,000 adult members in 41 central and eastern North Carolina counties (Beaufort, Bladen, Brunswick, Carteret, Chatham, Columbus, Craven, Cumberland, Duplin, Durham, Edgecombe, Franklin, Granville, Greene, Halifax, Harnett, Hoke, Johnston, Jones, Lee, Lenoir, Martin, Moore, Nash, New Hanover, Northampton, Onslow, Orange, Pamlico, Pender, Person, Pitt, Richmond, Robeson, Sampson, Scotland, Vance, Wake, Warren, Wayne, and Wilson). The council’s administrative headquarters is located in Raleigh, with additional program and service centers located in Fayetteville and Goldsboro. For more information on membership or volunteer opportunities, call 919-782-3021 or visit www.nccoastalpines.org.