SPECIAL EDITION: CORONAVIRUS: Why the Girl Scouts Give Us All Hope, with Meridith Maskara

Power and Purpose. During these difficult times, we're talking to experts who can help us gain perspective on the impact of the coronavirus, as well as share tips, resources and some much needed inspiration. Today I'm joined by Meredith Mascara. She is the CEO of the Girl Scouts of Greater New York and you can't get any more inspiration than being with Meredith and the Girl Scouts. Thanks so much for joining Meredith. Thank you so much, So so good

to connect during these times. Well, it's great to connect with you as well. We are hearing about the devastation the coronavirus is having in literally all areas of personal and professional lives. How has the Girl Scouts as an organization been impacted? Well, I think the interesting thing is where a hundred and seven year old organizations and during those hundred and seven years, We've survived wars, world wars,

natural disasters, Paris attacks, et cetera. And we're tackling this the same way that this organization has looked at every other pivotal point in history. Girls are a priority, families are a priority, and our commitment to building the leadership for tomorrow is still our priority. We just get to figure out how to do it a little different right now. Yeah, So, I mean it's it's exciting to problem solved, and Girl Scouts have always been able to five solutions, especially when

it comes to summitment to community. So with a volunteer base here in New York City of about seven thousand volunteers, they served thirty two thousand girls in the five boroughs. The girls that we serve are from low income households. So in a time of destruction like this, when daily routine and continuity and programs and community is distructed so much, Girl Scouts come in with the answer of how we're going to do this, and we immediately turned to technology.

We've built out some really incredible virtual programs and technology for our girls. No admitted as their future, and with gen Z right at the center, of this. They're coming up with incredible solutions and working with volunteers to stay connected.

And we've built out a platform of virtual program that will be providing two to three hours of program today based on our growth Scout UH focus, which is Leadership, Environmental, Leadership, Business and Entrepreneurship and STEM, and we'll be able to support families during this time by offering other programs and

making sure girls stay connected. Well. Love. This is so amazing because I remember a few years back UH as you said you were already investing in STEM with girls, and I think you created a badge or several badges relating to STEM that science, Technology, Engineering and mathematics. And it seems like all that investment is paying off, both in terms of your infrastructure but also in terms of girls who have come through the program and are now

contributing to this solution. Am I getting that right? Absolutely? So, all of those investments have paid off, and this generation of young women who are identifying themselves as them leaders are bringing solutions to us as well. We're always girl led.

That's amazing. And I will say my inspiration came this weekend by seeing my mailbox full of girls doing virtual troop meetings through Zoom and through teams, et cetera, and finding solutions to what they can do within their community right now to solve problems, whether that's delivering a meal to a door step of an elder, uh, checking in on families who need assistance with their daycare. Uh. The

girls are finding those solutions. Well. I feel like I feel like the girls Scots could actually probably solve this issue for us if we just put the girls. Put the girls to it. Um. So that's amazing and it is of course the girls get away. You know, this is obviously a very difficult time for adults. UM. You know, I'm talking to a lot of people, UM on the show and outside of the show, who are really struggling with mental health issues, with fear, with anxiety, obviously with

regular health issues. UM. How is this having an impact on girls, um, and on their on their sort of mental state and on their on their safety. It has an incredible impact. And as an organization, we have the benefit of having a National Research Center on Girls and Girls Mental Health to be able to help us give materials and provide those resources to families. At this time, a majority of the communities that we serve unfortunately have

trauma in their backgrounds. So one of the things that we've done here at Greater New York is build out of virtual programs that's specific for true volunteers and parents on how to deal with trauma in situations like this, not just with the girls but with themselves as a family. Is out. Wow, that's amazing. Do you have a couple of examples of of the types of practical guidance you're giving people? Um, you know, I think it's being very

aware and being sensitive to everyone's personal issues right now. UM. I think that one of the things that we tell people is when you're talking with them and connecting with people in these massive group virtual settings, we need to be aware that not everyone is sharing what they're personally going through or how they're personally connected to this crisis right now, and being sensitive to that and being sensitive to other areas of trauma that it could trigger from

their path right right, That's obviously very important. Um. We had talked to a doctor. Uh, she's a specialist in play and she was talking about how important it is to make children feel safe in this moment. Is that is that part of your curriculum? It is absolutely safe and fun are shoo key things, you know, are face that of an all girl environment is really important to how our program runs and that loving and caring mentors

that is provided in the volunteer. So right now, in our communities that are specifically trauma related, we want to make sure that there's consistency in that safe setting. Uh. You know, unfortunately, some of the communities that we serve are also from the shelter system, which also domestic abuse shelter systems, So we want to make sure that we can provide and connect families with resources so that they

continue to feel safe. I actually wanted to ask you about that because I think you're what you're referring to as Troops six thousand. Um, we've been a big fan of what you've done with Troop six thousand, which I believe is the first Girl Scouts troop for homeless girls, which started in New York City several years ago. How are those girls faring right now? They are a one

priority to us. As you can imagine, the resources that are provided generally in the shelter are, you know, not not always fulfilling and also certainly not prioritizing fun or community. So we immediately reached out. We served over fift girls and women in Troops six thousand over the past two years. So we're doing personal outreach. I know it's grown so much, Jim, so we're going to we continue to do personal outreach. We have increased our social services to be able to

provide them with the constant contact and connection that they need. Virtually, we're making sure that they do have the resources provided from the Department of ed as far as their computers and WiFi and helping them connect if they don't. Incredible, You've I mean, you have done so much for this

with this Troop six thousand project. I was amazed to learn that there are ten thousand homeless girls in New York City and to think that you're serving them through the Girl Scouts um and that you've grown the program to reach it's just incredible. It does seem like the Girl Scouts is doing so much to help to help girls, and that the girls are doing so much to help

the community. So I guess one of the questions I want to ask you is what can we and what can our listeners do to help support the Girl Scouts in this moment. There are a number of different ways, and thank you so much for asking. Girl Scouts is always about making the world a better place, and we know that these problems can be solved by having a generation of future leaders that are women. So we have

a number of different ways. You can visit our website, girl Scouts NYC dot org, and you can donate to a specific program, including through six thousand. You can also make sure that you find a digital cookie link because our cookies sale is interrupted right now. It's the largest girl led business and we of girls who are not

able to sell except for on their online stores. I was going to ask about the cookies because I feel like in this honor where everybody is, you know, stocking up on food, I think the Girl Scouts cookies are the way to go. So you're saying that the cookie link is on your main website, the cookie link will be will be available on our main website. It's also on our social and you'll be able to purchase directly from Chrom six thousands, so the proceeds all stay local

and support girls in this shelter system. When you buy from Church six thousands, incredible. We'll be back after this break. Well, I know what makes me optimistic which is talking to you. But what makes you optimistic in this moment? Girls seeing seeing the solutions, uh, seeing how responsible they are in tech savvy, and knowing that as girls are working towards their higher rewards like ron, silver and gold, they are

constantly problem solving and making our world a better place. Well, you know that the theme of Seneca Women is using your power for purpose, and clearly you are doing that in spades. Um. I have to say that when we were together a few years ago at the Metropolitan Museum of Art with troops six thousand, Uh, those young girls who took the stage, we're really, um, so incredibly inspiring and you could see that they are for sure we're

going to be the leaders of tomorrow. So I really sincere thanks for everything you're doing in the middle of this crisis, everything you do every day, and please let us know if there's any other way we can help. We look forward to supporting you. Yeah, thank you so much. We appreciate it. You're listening to Seneca Women Conversations on Power and Purpose, brought to you by the Seneca Women Podcast Network and I Heart Radio with support from founding

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