Transcribed by AI with Human Review:
Ko’u Hopkins:
Hello and welcome to today's episode on Community Voices. Thank you so much for listening. And today we have a very special treat from the Girl Scouts. And today we have Abigail Smith. Abigail, could you please introduce yourself?
Abigail Smith:
Yeah, my name is Abigail Smith. I'm the program coordinator and camp director in our Springfield Girl Scout office. And I'm here today to talk about Girl Scout Day at the Capitol.
Ko’u Hopkins:
So Abigail, could you please share how long you've been a part of Girl Scouts? Were you a Girl Scout yourself when you were younger? And what have you been doing with your mission now that you're an adult?
Abigail Smith:
Yeah, I've been with Girl Scouts of Central Illinois for about 3 years now, and I also was a Girl Scout growing up. I was a Girl Scout until about middle school. And then when I hit middle school, my troop got kind of young, and so I decided it wasn't quite for me anymore. But I love to see our middle and high school Girl Scouts really flourish and have Girl Scouting become a place where they really feel belonging in that kind of time in their life where there's so many things going on and there's so much pressure at school and in other places of their life. So that's really what we see the benefits, especially in high school, being.
Ko’u Hopkins:
And I know that from a study that was done, I forgot by which university, but they said that young girls, when they're in elementary school, they're sitting at the front of the class, raising their questions, and they're really involved. But by the time that they reach middle school and get into high school, they start to take a step back, and the boys start to go towards the front of the class, the boys start to take over and the girls get quieter and quieter. And the girls really start to lose their confidence. And I saw that, especially growing up, and I know you probably saw that as well, but I know with Girl Scouts, they give you a leg up. They keep the confidence strong, they keep girls going, and they keep girls curious. So do you think being a Girl Scout, especially from your side as you're a part of the council, do you think it helps young women to feel powerful and feel involved in their community?
Abigail Smith:
I would say absolutely. Our mission is to build girls of courage, confidence, and character who make the world a better place. And I've seen that in action all the time. Girls being more confident in school, in their extracurriculars at home and in their communities, and speaking up for what they really believe in, and also gaining independence in so many parts of their life. We see that at camp as well. And it's so important to make sure that their voices are heard and tell them that their voices are important as well.
Ko’u Hopkins:
And that is really important in today's world, especially as there are so many influences, especially online, the models and the... The Kardashians, they're always saying like, oh, you need to be a certain body type. Oh, you need to look a certain way. But in Girl Scouts, girls are free to be who they want and to look how they want and to feel confident in their own ways because they can be beautiful no matter how they are and no matter what they do. No matter how they do in school, all that matters is that they are at camp, they're with their troop, they're with their friends, and they can flourish and be the best that they can be in any way. And I know a couple of girls growing up, they actually chose chose what they wanted to be because of Girl Scouts. That's what they chose to be when they got into college. They were like, oh, we really love the STEM activities that we do at camp, or they loved being outdoors. And one of the girls I know, she's actually becoming, wanting to become a park ranger because she just loves the outdoors and she loves being part of the community. But stemming off of how women feel empowered, they have a great spot at the day at the Capitol. So could you kind of talk about that?
Abigail Smith:
Yeah, Day at the Capitol, Girl Scout Day at the Capitol, is an annual event we hold the first Friday of May every year in downtown Springfield. And it's a day where all Girl Scouts from all over the state of Illinois, so not just central Illinois, but all parts of the state, come together to celebrate democracy, celebrate Girl Scouting, really be involved and get in on the action of what government looks like. Just as you were saying, giving those young girls and girls who are, middle and high school too. I think you really have to see it to be it. So this is a day where they can see that in action and know that they can do that when they get older. And it's so empowering to see them figure those things out and really open their eyes to things they might not have seen before. It's a very unique experience.
Ko’u Hopkins:
I know that I went when I was a Girl Scout and I actually spoke at the Girl Scout rally last year. And I know last year we had Miss Springfield. Was there anyone else of like some heavy hitters that are part of this event?
Abigail Smith:
Yes, this year was a very special... year of day at the Capitol because we had our national CEO for Girl Scouts of the United States here in Springfield visiting us. So she got to speak to girls during our expo in the morning. And also she spoke at the steps after our rally marched to the Capitol. And she got to meet girls and she has her own personalized fun patch that she hands out. So they were all over that. They were very excited to get her fun patch.
Ko’u Hopkins:
I'm actually very jealous now because I would love a fun patch because I still have all of the patches I ever earned because I had a whole sash and it was completely decked out, but I never had enough room for all my patches. So I have this big, huge folder of just patches, but I would definitely make room on my sash for hers. So I'm very jealous of the girls. But so how many girls were there in attendance? Because you said it was all over the state. So how many young girls or high school? How many?
Abigail Smith:
Yeah, we had about 1,500 participants this year, which it's a lot of people when you see them marching together down the steps or down the streets of downtown Springfield towards the Capitol. Of course, this year, moving away from the construction, we took a little bit of a different route. But it's just so powerful to see everyone together, having a great time and learning A lot. It's such an empowering experience to see them all at the Capitol steps together, hearing from our national CEO and some really powerful people, and having them all together. The community is always so powerful, so it's very cool to see them together.
Ko’u Hopkins:
And I know that this is also a very important moment and a moment that the girls will take with them forever, is to feel that power of walking together. And then you get to the Capitol and you're able to talk with like legislators and meet with the CEO. These are not opportunities that come every day. And I'm so glad that the Girl Scouts are able to give this opportunity to young girls, especially because I was a young girl. I always loved government. And I know there are other little girls or other young adults or young women that would love to be at the seat at the the table. And so with this event, do you feel like the Girl Scouts are more connected with legislators after these events?
Abigail Smith:
Yeah, they might not be seeing their legislators, but they're definitely entering the Capitol. They're seeing things in session. One of the cool offerings we had this year was a mock debate with the Council of Women Legislators. And so they held a mock debate for middle and high school Girl Scouts. We got a lot of good feedback on that. I was asking folks in the afternoon if their side won or if their side lost. So it was really cool to hear their feedback on that. And it's just a unique experience. It's something you're probably not going to get to do except for at Girl Scout Day at the Capitol in the afternoon. We also, we changed our schedule a little bit this year to kind of meet the needs of our wide age group of Girl Scouts who attend the event. So they also got to visit some historic sites and museums in downtown Springfield because we've got lots of great options there as well. So for instance, the Old State Capitol, the Dana Thomas House, the Illinois State Museum, the Abraham Lincoln Public Library and Museum, all those heavy headers in downtown Springfield. So it's really cool to have them visit those locations with their troop, experience it together and it's a really special time for them as well.
Ko’u Hopkins:
Yeah, I think that's so important. And especially the girls all over Illinois, we could all learn some history as well. I think that's really important because if you don't know your past, you're bound to repeat it. So I'm really glad that the girls not only got an educational experience at the Capitol, but also with their own history and the history of Illinois. So out of all those places that you went, what do you think the girls enjoyed the most? Do you think they enjoyed the Capitol or some of the other events that they did?
Abigail Smith:
I did ask a lot of Girl Scouts who came back to the BOS Center or the Bank of Springfield Center downtown what they liked the most about the afternoon. And a lot of them said the old state capitol and the new state capitol. So some of them said that they visited those locations back-to-back. And it was really cool to see how big our new capitol is and what the old state capitol used to look like. Compare and contrast and all those fun things to see that together. We challenged them in the afternoon to visit three historic sites in downtown Springfield to get a really good perspective of just the really cool history of our state. We were celebrating the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence this year, and so that was our theme for this year's event. So we really dug into history, and we had a lot of Girl Scouts participate in their, we called it our passport program in the afternoon. So they got an extra fun patch, which fun patches are a hot commodity. They love those. So we had a lot of troops participate in that. And they had lots of cool experiences in the afternoon. And especially troops from Springfield, maybe visiting things and seeing things they hadn't seen before, or visiting something again. I think we all have those Core memories of visiting the ALPLM as a kid for a field trip or at Lincoln's home, that's always a very popular one. But it's cool to visit those with your Girl Scout friends as well.
Ko’u Hopkins:
I know that with my troop, I always made a lot of memories because growing up, you don't really realize how important it is to have these type of safe female friendships because you're able to be yourself, you're able to learn with everyone, and you're able to do these really fun experiences. I know that when I was younger, my mom, she was the Girl Scout troop leader. We did the Titanic event. So it was a lot of fun. Everybody, they still talk about it. They really do. One of my friends, I met with them earlier this year, and they asked, they were like, you know, I still remember that Titanic event, do you? And I was like, yes. So it's like these memories that they're going to make is so important because it will shape who they are as people. It will shape their character. It will shape their confidence as well to ask these questions and to push forward. And I'm really glad that the girls enjoyed it. Did you enjoy it yourself?
Abigail Smith:
Absolutely. It's a crazy day for us as staff members, but it's so cool to see Girl Scouts that we know and Girl Scouts that we might not know come together all in one space. The BOS Center was definitely packed with Girl Scouts. and experience all those things together. I also went to Girl Scout Day at the Capitol. I think I was a second grade Brownie and I remember doing the march, eating my lunch in the downtown Springfield area. So those are really things that stick with you and become core memories for our Girl Scouts because of how special it is.
Ko’u Hopkins:
So what do you hope for next year? What do you hope next year for the girls and what do you hope next year for the staff as well?
Abigail Smith:
Yeah, we hope to keep our momentum going. This is always one of our favorite events of the year. It's always our largest as well. So we hope to keep our community growing for the event, keep bringing in really important experiences for the Girl Scouts on that day. I'm not sure what our theme will be next year, but we will have to gain some feedback from our Girl Scouts and see what they're thinking about. It's always cool to tie in some of the activities throughout the day to our theme to just make each year unique and special. And this year with the Declaration of Independence anniversary, our expo in the morning was kind of themed towards history and learning about, you know, what that era was like 250 years ago. One of the funniest booth spots was create your own Mount Rushmore. And so there was sort of like clay blobs that were set up and the girls got to create what they think should be added onto Mount Rushmore. So of course, kind of a funny experience, but something hands-on for them as well. So we hope to keep that going, of course, every year.
Ko’u Hopkins:
I think those experiences are always really fun because you get to see how young girls view the world. You can see everything through their eyes and you can see how they think Mount Rushmore should look. I love those experiences. But winding down from Day at the Capitol, what are the Girl Scouts thinking about for summer? Because I know summer camp and fun things like that.
Abigail Smith:
Absolutely. We have lots of summer camp opportunities here in Springfield. We also, our other camps are located in Mahomet and also Metamora up by the Peoria area. And so if you are listening and you'd like more information about that, you can go to getyourgirlpower.org and check out lots of fun opportunities that are outdoor-based for summer camps. And we hope to see lots of smiles and memories and laughs being created this summer as well.
Ko’u Hopkins:
Is registration open for that now?
Abigail Smith:
Yes, it is.
Ko’u Hopkins:
And when does registration close?
Abigail Smith:
Our registration closes two weeks before each camp session, so it kind of depends on what you're interested in. But lots of things are filling up, so I would say if you have your eye on something, I would recommend doing it sooner rather than later.
Ko’u Hopkins:
What type of events are there? Because I know I did archery once. Is there still archery?
Abigail Smith:
Yes, absolutely. We have here at Camp Wegewagon in Springfield. Our days are filled with outdoor adventures. Each week we do rock climbing, we canoe, we also do archery and then weather permitting. We do swim in the pool. I always have to put the weather permitting in there because if I don't, I will have girls come back and say, well, you know, we didn't swim every day because there was a thunderstorm. Well, sorry, you know, thunderstorms do happen. We can't control the weather. But we do try to be flexible around that. So lots of outdoor activities. We're proud to be low-tech camps. So we think it's really important for girls to have experiences away from the tablets and the screens and all that. And there's lots of cool things that happen when we're away from technology and are able to connect with the people around us and the world around us in different ways.
Ko’u Hopkins:
Yeah, and I think that's really important, especially for young girls and just getting their confidence. You got to remember there is a world outside the phone. And sometimes I kind of get bad about it myself as I'm always checking Instagram. But sometimes you need to check what is outside at your own front door. And Abigail, thank you so much for coming in. But do you have anything else you would like to add?
Abigail Smith:
If anyone listening would like more information about Girl Scouts in Central Illinois, we are always welcoming new members and forming new troops in areas near you. So if you'd like more information about that, you can go to getyourgirlpower.org and find out troops around you, find out more information about Girl Scouting, and we would love to have you.
Ko’u Hopkins:
Thank you so much, Abigail, for coming in. And thank you all to our listeners. And if you would like to learn more about the Girl Scouts, please see our post. That will be up on nprillinois.org. And thank you so much for listening to today's episode. I'm your host, Ko’u Hopkins.
