Tuscaloosa Senior Earns God and Life Award

Senior Martha Grace Lowery Mize of Troop 40002 recently received her God and Life Award. The God and Life Award is the highest protestant religious recognition earned by high school students. She completed her requirements during her confirmation classes and Bible classes at American Christian Academy. Martha Grace received her pin during the Sunday worship service at her church in Tuscaloosa.

Urge Your Representative to Co-Sponsor the Healthy Media for Youth Act!

The Girl Scout Research Institute’s latest survey, Girls and Body Image 2010, revealed alarming statistics about teen girls’ relationships with the media and fashion industry. Nearly 90 percent of girls surveyed say the media places a lot of pressure on girls to be thin and 60 percent of girls compare themselves to models. Body dissatisfaction can result from this comparison, and leads to serious health problems, such as unhealthy eating and dieting habits. More than half of girls (55 percent) admit they diet to lose weight and 31 percent admit to starving themselves or refusing to eat as a strategy to lose weight.

This research prompted Girl Scouts of the USA to work closely with Congresswomen Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) to develop the Healthy Media for Youth Act (H.R. 4925). This bill supports media literacy programs and youth empowerment groups, facilitates research on how images of women and girls impact youth, and establishes a National Taskforce on Women and Girls in the Media to develop voluntary standards that promote healthy, balanced, and positive images of girls and women.

The importance of this bill is best summarized by the father of a Daisy Girl Scout from Colorado, who is “happy to see that GSUSA has put its support behind the bipartisan supported Healthy Media for Youth Act (H.R. 4925). Our kids are assaulted every day with negative images of girls and women and H.R. 4925 can help combat this. Thank you very much for always thinking of our precious girls first!"

Girl Scouts is now seeking Congressional cosponsors for the bill. Join the Girl Scout Advocacy Network, www.girlscouts4girls.org, today to send a letter to your member of Congress asking them to sign on to the bill and be a Voice for Girls! Currently none of the Alabama representatives have signed on to co-sponsor. Please encourage them to do so!

Mountain Brook Girls Learn from the Elderly

Mountain Brook Troop 231 is doing their part by volunteering for Collat Jewish Family Services. CJFS serves the needs of the elderly and financially and emotionally distressed individuals. For their project the girls are interviewing employees, clients and volunteers working with CJFS. CJFS will then be able to use these interviews for their website, annual meetings and grant applications. One woman the girls have found a special connection with is Cecelia. Cecelia is a remarkable 99 year old woman who lives in Birmingham. After interviewing her for their project, the girls realized that they really enjoyed talking to her. Now, as a sub project, they will be visiting Cecelia once a month and hope to get the opportunity to celebrate her 100^th birthday with her on March 5. Some girls have gotten involved in making scarves for cancer patients as another sub project. The girls got involved with this project after interviewing the founder of the knitting group, Roz Feigelson, for CFJS. The troop is very excited about the many projects they have going on and appreciate the opportunities that working for CJFS has given them.

Pictured: Riva, Michelle, Gracie, Grace, Jessica, Cara

Memorial Day Cleanup

Pictured: (BR L to R) Jennifer, Emily, Kassey, Patience;
(FR) Ashley, Lindsey, Dolly, Courtney

Wadley Girl Scout Troop 20172 cleaned and decorated the Liberty West Baptist Cemetery (the Old Louina Cemetery) for Memorial Day to help two of their troop members earn their Girl Scout Bronze Award. The girls cleaned headstones, mowed the grass, removed weeds, moved tree limbs and picked up trash. They cut bamboo to use as flower holders and cut 100 artificial flowers, tied ribbons on them, then put a flower on each grave. Family and friends donated gas and the use of lawnmowers and weed-eaters. They enjoyed this project and would like to continue doing it each year.

Online Chat with Ramona and Beezus Stars!

GSUSA invites all Girl Scouts and their friends to join a live online chat with actors Joey King and Selena Gomez, stars of the upcoming movie, Ramona and Beezus, debuting in theaters July 23! The webcast will take place on Wednesday, July 21 at 2 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (1 p....m. Central, 12 p.m. Mountain, 11 a.m. Pacific Time). In order to participate, you must click on the following link a few minutes before the chat begins: http://www.walden.com/stream. Joey King and Selena Gomez will talk about the film, which is based on the beloved book by Beverly Cleary. They will share a little about themselves and chat about how the movie's story correlates with the new Girl Scout Journey, It's Your Story-Tell It! (coming to Girl Scout shops this December). There will be time for questions from online participants but we highly encourage girls to submit questions now! Please send your questions by e-mail to Sabrina Sanchez at ssanchez@girlscouts.org by Tuesday, July 20.

GSNCA to host Fishing Tournament in August!

The inaugural Bill Ireland Invitational Fishing Tournament will be held August 13-14 on Lake Alice at Kanawahala Program Center (KPC) located in Chelsea, AL. Proceeds will benefit the Girl Scouts of North-Central Alabama.

The tournament will kick-off Friday, August 13 with a Captain’s Party from 5:30-8:30 p.m. at KPC. Following a 6 a.m. breakfast on Saturday, August 14, the tournament will begin with a shotgun start at Lake Alice on KPC and other private, local lakes. Lunch will be provided and an awards presentation will follow. Overnight accommodations can be provided.

Sponsorship levels range from $500 to $2500. Prizes will be awarded for bass weight an all other species including catfish and bream. Fish may be iced or put in live wells, and fish over 14” much be released back into the lake. All other fish may be taken home. No live bait will be allowed.

The fishing tournament started in 2004, and is now being revived in honor of a wonderful Girl Scout supporter, Bill Ireland, Sr. This year’s event is being chaired by Tom Clark. Current sponsors include Alabama Power, Barber’s Diary, EBSCO and Vulcan Materials.

For more information, please contact Julie Carter at jcarter@girlscoutnsca.org or 800-734-4541 x1030. You may visit www.girlscoutsnca.org/fishing.php for a sponsorship brochure.

Healthy Media for Youth Act

Were you shocked by this video that circulated last month of young girls in minimal clothing dancing provocatively to "Single Ladies"? Are you worried girls are getting the message that their physical appearance is the best way to gain attention and prominence? Is there anything we can do about the unhealthy images and messages that girls see every day?

Yes! The Healthy Media for Youth Act is an important step towards a new reality for girls: one in which they see themselves in a new and stronger light.

We need your help NOW more than ever before. Our goal is to secure 75 co-sponsors before the end of this legislative cycle - and there is not much time left! With 41 co-sponsors, we are over half-way there, but your support is crucial. Send your letter today and help ensure that your U.S. Representative is the next one to support the bill. By using our GIRL POWER we can make real change!

If you want to make the world a better place for girls, TAKE ACTION! Join Girl Scouts as we advocate for healthier media images. Send a letter of support for the Healthy Media for Youth Act (H.R. 4925) to your Member of Congress today.