Girl Scouts seek new recruits in the Danville area

The Girl Scouts of the USA are on a search for girls interested in developing life skills through programs that are just plain fun.

To find such girls in the Danville area, a Girl Scout Glamour Girlz recruitment event will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. March 14 in the former Boscov’s department store in Piedmont Mall.

“This event is one avenue to introduce girls to the benefits of Girl Scouting and to help every girl find her own self-worth no matter where she comes from or what she looks like,” said Joaquina Clark-Sheffield, membership services manager of the Girl Scouts of Virginia Skyline Council.

Activities for the day include workshops on skin care with Clinique, hair care with Mastercuts, a self-esteem workshop and fashion creations with duct tape. A fashion show, sponsored by Belk, will teach the girls how to dress and be fashionable whatever their body shape.

A highlight of the day will be an appearance by Miss Virginia 2009 Tara Wheeler.

“Miss Virginia will deliver a motivational message to the girls,” Clark-Sheffield said. “We want the girls to realize that beauty is not only on the outside, (but) starts from within!”

Since the event is geared toward girls who are not registered Girl Scouts, girls who are registered may only attend, and will receive a patch, if they bring a friend who is not a registered Girl Scout.

Clark-Sheffield said that the Girl Scouts of the USA have developed “new pathways” in which girls can participate in Girl Scouting outside of the usual troop setting, which she hopes will enable the Girl Scouts to reach more girls in the Danville area.

“A girl can choose to travel in the U.S. and overseas and attend big events such as this one, throughout the council’s 36-county area, attend camps or programs and even follow a special interest she may have, such as making a difference in the environment,” she said.

In this, the biggest Girl Scout event ever to be held in Danville, building self-esteem in girls will be a focus, as it has been in Girl Scouts since the organization’s founding in 1912, Clark-Sheffield said.

“Most of our programs center around guiding girls to find courage, confidence and character in themselves in such a fun way that it never seems like work at all,” she said. “Just fun.”

There are currently 149 Girl Scouts registered in Danville and 80 registered in Pittsylvania County.

Clark-Sheffield said there are many benefits to girls in the scouting program, which includes programs for girls from kindergarten through the 12th grade.

“Girl Scouts is a leadership program for girls that develops life skills in business, science and technology; provides challenges in sports, the environment and the great outdoors; and encourages girls to give back to their communities through service projects conducted locally, across the United States and internationally,” she said. “In Girl Scouting, girls have a safe place to be who they want to be, make lasting friendships and have experiences that will last a lifetime.”

The cost for girls to attend Glamour Girlz is $20, which includes lunch. There are scholarships available, however.

Partnerships with Piedmont Mall, Clinique, Belk and Chick-fil-A that are enabling the Girl Scouts to attend the event with minimal cost to the girls, Clark-Sheffield said.

“We are extremely grateful to them and credit the future success of this event in part to these local businesses as they see this being such a benefit to girls in their area,” she said.

To register for this event or for information about scholarships, call the Skyline Council at (540) 777-5100 or (800) 542-5905 or go online at www.gsvsc.org.