Published Monday, August 23, 2010
From left, Inkeria Harris, 13; Perrin Aycock, 13; Ilaina Burns, 15; and Lizzy Ratajczak, 13, pose outside Buckingham Palace during a 12-day trip to England through the Girl Scout Destinations program.
Perrin Aycock gets grief from some of her guy friends about being a Girl Scout, but that hasn't deterred the 13-year-old.
Through Girls Scouts, she meets new people, serves her community, learns interesting stuff and - best of all - travels.
"Girl Scouts do way more than just sell cookies," Perrin said. "That's just how we raise money to do cool stuff."
Perrin and three other local Girl Scouts just returned from England, where they toured London and celebrated the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts' 100-year anniversary at a weeklong camp in Yorkshire.
The trip was part of Girl Scout Destinations, a program that hosts trips in this country and abroad to show girls ages 11 to 17 different cultures, experiences and people. The trips range from two-day jaunts to three-week excursions, but each is designed to develop leadership skills, build confidence and teach girls about themselves and the world around them.
After attending the centennial celebration with 7,000 other Girl Scouts from all over the world, Perrin and her friends will help to plan for the U.S. Centennial Celebration in Savannah in 2012.
"It's not only about going to the camp, it is about bringing the centennial back here," said Lizzy Ratajczak, 13. "We didn't know anything about what we would be doing before we got there. We'll be able to help plan some things better now that we've done them."
While at Harewood House in Yorkshire, the girls did some traditional camping - swimming, horseback riding and fencing - but they also snowboarded indoors, shopped in nearby Leeds and tried their hands at tai chi.
"We met people from Portugal, Singapore, Taiwan and Bangladesh," Lizzy said. "I now know people from like 30 different countries. That's really, really cool."
Not all destinations are rugged. Some trips are for girls interested in science, space, social activism, business, education or filmmaking. No matter the focus of the trip, each program helps girls build leadership skills, learn valuable lessons and prepare for their future.
Although Columbus State University freshman Emily Rose Cochran, 18, is going off to college, she hasn't left her scouting days behind. Cochran is hoping to apply what she learned this summer at the Oxford Leadership Youth Program, a weeklong self-development course for Girl and Boy Scouts at Oxford University in England, as an adult member on her campus.
"The leadership program was awesome," Cochran said. "I would like to return to Oxford in the future through a study abroad program in college."
The travel opportunities Cochran had this summer- including a trip to Brazil last week - will help shape her future, said her mom, Jency Showker.
"When they go to something like this, the girls have a physical goal, a place where she can see her future," said Showker. "Emily now has something to strive for. That's priceless."
The experience is invaluable, but the trips can cost anywhere from several hundred to several thousand dollars.
Local Girl Scout councils may provide financial help, and the national organization gives tips on how individual girls can raise money to help pay for their travels.
"If this is something very important to you, then you need to be a part of making that happen," said Jen Cole, Perrin's mom and troop leader.
Both Perrin and Lizzy raised money for their England trip on their own by baby-sitting and selling cookies.
Ilaina Burns sold 8,000 boxes of Girl Scout Cookies - more than any other girl in the state - which paid for her trip to England.
"It could have been a lot more expensive, but she really earned it," said Ilaina's mom, Aymie.
When the girls were younger, their activities were planned for them. Now troop members - not their adult leaders - make the plans for most of the projects they do.
"You want to gradually release responsibility to the girls because the goal is for the girls to lead themselves," Cole said.
"Just the self-confidence they get from being prepared for the world is invaluable," Burns said. "Whether it's planning a trip to Build-a-Bear or England, it gets them prepared and makes them realize that they can do things."
To participate in the Girl Scout Destinations program, a girl has to be a Scout, but she need not belong to a troop. Girls can participate in scouting on their own online, and attend Girl Scout functions on their own.
"The whole community benefits from Girl Scouts," said Betsy Connell, assistant program director for the older girls of Girl Scouts of Historic Georgia. "The Girl Scout Destinations especially introduce the girls to new experiences, new places, new girls and new leadership skills. It is so beneficial to the girls and everyone they touch."
Find out more about the program at www.studio2b.org/escape.
Originally published in the Athens Banner-Herald on Monday, August 23, 2010
