Yvette Walker
With KVCR News, I'm Yvette Walker. This is IE Latino Voices, where we invite representatives from Latino led and Latino serving organizations to share their stories and their impact in our region. Joining me today is Linda Dominguez, Director of Community Relations with the Girl Scouts of San Gorgonio. Thank you for being with us today, Linda.
Linda Dominquez
It's an honor and a pleasure. Thank you for inviting me.
Yvette Walker
What are some of the values, activities, and opportunities that exist within Girl Scouts?
Linda Dominquez
We have badges that cover everything, whether it be science in the outdoor nature and learning the different shapes of the leaves and the trees and the branches. We also do STEM, we do life skills, which to me, is so important nowadays. We also do environmental education. So we provide a variety of things, and we encourage our girls to try new things, things that they may not have thought they would like and so all of our programs are built under our discover, connect and take action.
Yvette Walker
What are the eligible ages for girls to participate in Girl Scouts?
Linda Dominquez
We serve from kindergarten to 12th grade. And if there is a girl with a special needs, we actually extend it a couple, few years after her senior year.
Yvette Walker
Very nice. Are there programs within Girl Scouts that are close to your heart?
Linda Dominquez
So we have what we call Girl Scout Series, Club series, to where the girl can choose a six-week series. It is staff led. The girls are able to pick and choose what topics they would like to do according to the dates of the series. We also have an entrepreneurship training coming up where the girls can learn how to start their own business, do business plans, and of course, this will be tied into our cookies in January. And the one that I love is that we are starting to become part of the after school programs in our different public schools, in our charter schools. So this way every girl truly gets a chance to be part of Girl Scouts.
Yvette Walker
I love that. So does Girl Scouts still have the traditional camping, equestrian... things of that nature?
Linda Dominquez
Yes, we do. Now, once you become a member, you can join anything, all the events that we have. You're eligible to go to our camps. And our camps have the equestrians. We have an environmental education lab up there that a lot of the schools will bus the students in for the day to go to that we still have nature. We still have how to learn to shoot a bow and arrow. There are good old archery. So, yes, we still have those, and it'll never leave our council.
Yvette Walker
Have you seen a growth of Girl Scout membership within the Latino community?
Linda Dominquez
I have seen a growth, but to me, I want more. To me, it's not enough. There's so many Latina women, and we want to empower our generation, we need to step up and step forward for our girls. Become part of Girl Scouts. Make a difference. Someone made a difference in our life at some point, someone reached their hand out. Somebody told us that we were valuable and that they believed in us and that motivated us and stayed with us for our long lives. It's our turn now, mujeres, it's our turn.
Yvette Walker
I love that, as you mentioned, a strong entrepreneurship element in Girl Scouts. Share a little bit more about that.
Linda Dominquez
We have a series coming up in January that the girls will be able to sell cookies. But part of that of earning their badge, they do earn a badge in that they do business plans. They set goals to how many boxes do they want to sell to achieve this, and they even have a plan B, because life doesn't always go how we plan it to be. So how do they confront that? How are they going to adjust to that? They learn marketing, they learn social interaction, they learn customer skills, and even more important, they learn how to handle 'no' because not everyone will buy a box of cookies. How do you handle that?
Yvette Walker
Where can families find a Girl Scout troop and what are ways to determine the best fit for their child?
Linda Dominquez
They can call our office and our website is gssgc.org or they can call our phone number, 909-371-6555. We're here. And mujeres, it's time for us to step up.
Yvette Walker
Wow. Thank you so much for that, Linda.
Linda Dominquez
Thank you.
Yvette Walker
Linda Dominguez is Director of Community Relations with the Girl Scouts of San Gorgonio. Join us again next week for IE Latino Voices. You can find this story and others on our website at Kvcrnews.org/IELatinoVoices. IE Latino Voices is produced by KVCR Public Media, and is funded by generous support from the CIELO Fund at IECF, uplifting and investing in the IE's Latino community. For KVCR News, I'm Yvette Walker.
