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Girl Scouts not just about cookies and crafts Date published: 3/30/2009
BY EDIE GROSS
It's been years since the members of Girl Scout Troop 72 pitched Thin Mints and Samoas in front of local grocery stores. Still, when the girls--now high school sophomores--tell their friends they're Scouts, that's generally where the conversation ends up. "They always ask, 'Are you selling cookies?'" says Alison Mullen, 15. "I'm like, 'It's November,'" adds pal Emily Burke, 16. Folks don't think to ask about all the service projects they've orchestrated while rising through the Girl Scout ranks. The ballet classes Emily taught to children at Hope House. Or the Daisy troop that Alison started for kindergartners at Hugh Mercer Elementary. Or the enormous map of the United States that fellow Scout Elizabeth Smith, 15, painted on the blacktop near the school's playground. The teens say they enjoyed their share of cookies, crafts and camping trips when they were little. But they remained in Girl Scouts longer than most for the chance to become community leaders. "Girl Scouts is a hip-hoppin' thing," Emily says, laughing a bit. "People don't get that." That's a message officials at Girl Scout headquarters are working hard to emphasize. Membership has dropped by 13 percent over the last five years, and it's getting harder to hang onto tweens and teens, who have more activities competing for their attention than ever. Weekly troop meetings in the basement of a local church might seem a tad old-fashioned to kids more accustomed to texting, tweeting and LOL on Facebook. Approaching its 100th anniversary, Girl Scouts of the USA has been experimenting with ways to dust off its outdated image. Last year, it hired a chief marketing officer to come up with a "brand strategy," essentially a way to appeal to a new generation of young women. Laurel Richie had already done re-branding work for major clients like Kotex, Pond's and Huggies, "well-loved, trusted brands with powerful DNA that needed just a little renewal and refreshment," she said. A former Girl Scout herself, she actually cried in her interview. "I was hooked at the mission," Richie said. "The notion of building girls of courage, confidence and character who make the world a better place is not only noble, but really needed at this time."
Read more stories about Fredericksburg Date published: 3/30/2009
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