Speaker 1: Hi. This is Malayan Vervier and this is Kim Azarelli.
Speaker 1: We are co authors of the book Fast Forward, How
Speaker 1: Women Can Achieve Power and Purpose. And you're listening to
Speaker 1: Seneca Women Conversations on Power and Purpose, brought to you
Speaker 1: by the Seneca Women Podcast Network and I Heart Radio. Well,
Speaker 1: welcome to the special edition of Seneca Women Conversations on
Speaker 1: Power and Purpose. During these difficult times, we're talking to
Speaker 1: experts who can help us gain perspective on the impact
Speaker 1: of the coronavirus, as well as share tips, resources and
Speaker 1: some much needed inspiration. Today I'm joined by Meredith Mascara.
Speaker 1: She is the CEO of the Girl Scouts of Greater
Speaker 1: New York and you can't get any more inspiration than
Speaker 1: being with Meredith and the Girl Scouts. Thanks so much
Speaker 1: for joining Meredith. Thank you so much, So so good
Speaker 1: to connect during these times. Well, it's great to connect
Speaker 1: with you as well. We are hearing about the devastation
Speaker 1: the coronavirus is having in literally all areas of personal
Speaker 1: and professional lives. How has the Girl Scouts as an
Speaker 1: organization been impacted? Well, I think the interesting thing is
Speaker 1: where a hundred and seven year old organizations and during
Speaker 1: those hundred and seven years, We've survived wars, world wars,
Speaker 1: natural disasters, Paris attacks, et cetera. And we're tackling this
Speaker 1: the same way that this organization has looked at every
Speaker 1: other pivotal point in history. Girls are a priority, families
Speaker 1: are a priority, and our commitment to building the leadership
Speaker 1: for tomorrow is still our priority. We just get to
Speaker 1: figure out how to do it a little different right now. Yeah, So,
Speaker 1: I mean it's it's exciting to problem solved, and Girl
Speaker 1: Scouts have always been able to five solutions, especially when
Speaker 1: it comes to summitment to community. So with a volunteer
Speaker 1: base here in New York City of about seven thousand volunteers,
Speaker 1: they served thirty two thousand girls in the five boroughs.
Speaker 1: The girls that we serve are from low income households.
Speaker 1: So in a time of destruction like this, when daily
Speaker 1: routine and continuity and programs and community is distructed so much,
Speaker 1: Girl Scouts come in with the answer of how we're
Speaker 1: going to do this, and we immediately turned to technology.
Speaker 1: We've built out some really incredible virtual programs and technology
Speaker 1: for our girls. No admitted as their future, and with
Speaker 1: gen Z right at the center, of this. They're coming
Speaker 1: up with incredible solutions and working with volunteers to stay connected.
Speaker 1: And we've built out a platform of virtual program that
Speaker 1: will be providing two to three hours of program today
Speaker 1: based on our growth Scout UH focus, which is Leadership, Environmental, Leadership,
Speaker 1: Business and Entrepreneurship and STEM, and we'll be able to
Speaker 1: support families during this time by offering other programs and
Speaker 1: making sure girls stay connected. Well. Love. This is so
Speaker 1: amazing because I remember a few years back UH as
Speaker 1: you said you were already investing in STEM with girls,
Speaker 1: and I think you created a badge or several badges
Speaker 1: relating to STEM that science, Technology, Engineering and mathematics. And
Speaker 1: it seems like all that investment is paying off, both
Speaker 1: in terms of your infrastructure but also in terms of
Speaker 1: girls who have come through the program and are now
Speaker 1: contributing to this solution. Am I getting that right? Absolutely? So,
Speaker 1: all of those investments have paid off, and this generation
Speaker 1: of young women who are identifying themselves as them leaders
Speaker 1: are bringing solutions to us as well. We're always girl led.
Speaker 1: That's amazing. And I will say my inspiration came this
Speaker 1: weekend by seeing my mailbox full of girls doing virtual
Speaker 1: troop meetings through Zoom and through teams, et cetera, and
Speaker 1: finding solutions to what they can do within their community
Speaker 1: right now to solve problems, whether that's delivering a meal
Speaker 1: to a door step of an elder, uh, checking in
Speaker 1: on families who need assistance with their daycare. Uh. The
Speaker 1: girls are finding those solutions. Well. I feel like I
Speaker 1: feel like the girls Scots could actually probably solve this
Speaker 1: issue for us if we just put the girls. Put
Speaker 1: the girls to it. Um. So that's amazing and it
Speaker 1: is of course the girls get away. You know, this
Speaker 1: is obviously a very difficult time for adults. UM. You know,
Speaker 1: I'm talking to a lot of people, UM on the
Speaker 1: show and outside of the show, who are really struggling
Speaker 1: with mental health issues, with fear, with anxiety, obviously with
Speaker 1: regular health issues. UM. How is this having an impact
Speaker 1: on girls, um, and on their on their sort of
Speaker 1: mental state and on their on their safety. It has
Speaker 1: an incredible impact. And as an organization, we have the
Speaker 1: benefit of having a National Research Center on Girls and
Speaker 1: Girls Mental Health to be able to help us give
Speaker 1: materials and provide those resources to families. At this time,
Speaker 1: a majority of the communities that we serve unfortunately have
Speaker 1: trauma in their backgrounds. So one of the things that
Speaker 1: we've done here at Greater New York is build out
Speaker 1: of virtual programs that's specific for true volunteers and parents
Speaker 1: on how to deal with trauma in situations like this,
Speaker 1: not just with the girls but with themselves as a family.
Speaker 1: Is out. Wow, that's amazing. Do you have a couple
Speaker 1: of examples of of the types of practical guidance you're
Speaker 1: giving people? Um, you know, I think it's being very
Speaker 1: aware and being sensitive to everyone's personal issues right now. UM.
Speaker 1: I think that one of the things that we tell
Speaker 1: people is when you're talking with them and connecting with
Speaker 1: people in these massive group virtual settings, we need to
Speaker 1: be aware that not everyone is sharing what they're personally
Speaker 1: going through or how they're personally connected to this crisis
Speaker 1: right now, and being sensitive to that and being sensitive
Speaker 1: to other areas of trauma that it could trigger from
Speaker 1: their path right right, That's obviously very important. Um. We
Speaker 1: had talked to a doctor. Uh, she's a specialist in
Speaker 1: play and she was talking about how important it is
Speaker 1: to make children feel safe in this moment. Is that
Speaker 1: is that part of your curriculum? It is absolutely safe
Speaker 1: and fun are shoo key things, you know, are face
Speaker 1: that of an all girl environment is really important to
Speaker 1: how our program runs and that loving and caring mentors
Speaker 1: that is provided in the volunteer. So right now, in
Speaker 1: our communities that are specifically trauma related, we want to
Speaker 1: make sure that there's consistency in that safe setting. Uh.
Speaker 1: You know, unfortunately, some of the communities that we serve
Speaker 1: are also from the shelter system, which also domestic abuse
Speaker 1: shelter systems, So we want to make sure that we
Speaker 1: can provide and connect families with resources so that they
Speaker 1: continue to feel safe. I actually wanted to ask you
Speaker 1: about that because I think you're what you're referring to
Speaker 1: as Troops six thousand. Um, we've been a big fan
Speaker 1: of what you've done with Troop six thousand, which I
Speaker 1: believe is the first Girl Scouts troop for homeless girls,
Speaker 1: which started in New York City several years ago. How
Speaker 1: are those girls faring right now? They are a one
Speaker 1: priority to us. As you can imagine, the resources that
Speaker 1: are provided generally in the shelter are, you know, not
Speaker 1: not always fulfilling and also certainly not prioritizing fun or community.
Speaker 1: So we immediately reached out. We served over fift girls
Speaker 1: and women in Troops six thousand over the past two years.
Speaker 1: So we're doing personal outreach. I know it's grown so much, Jim,
Speaker 1: so we're going to we continue to do personal outreach.
Speaker 1: We have increased our social services to be able to
Speaker 1: provide them with the constant contact and connection that they need. Virtually,
Speaker 1: we're making sure that they do have the resources provided
Speaker 1: from the Department of ed as far as their computers
Speaker 1: and WiFi and helping them connect if they don't. Incredible,
Speaker 1: You've I mean, you have done so much for this
Speaker 1: with this Troop six thousand project. I was amazed to
Speaker 1: learn that there are ten thousand homeless girls in New
Speaker 1: York City and to think that you're serving them through
Speaker 1: the Girl Scouts um and that you've grown the program
Speaker 1: to reach it's just incredible. It does seem like the
Speaker 1: Girl Scouts is doing so much to help to help girls,
Speaker 1: and that the girls are doing so much to help
Speaker 1: the community. So I guess one of the questions I
Speaker 1: want to ask you is what can we and what
Speaker 1: can our listeners do to help support the Girl Scouts
Speaker 1: in this moment. There are a number of different ways,
Speaker 1: and thank you so much for asking. Girl Scouts is
Speaker 1: always about making the world a better place, and we
Speaker 1: know that these problems can be solved by having a
Speaker 1: generation of future leaders that are women. So we have
Speaker 1: a number of different ways. You can visit our website,
Speaker 1: girl Scouts NYC dot org, and you can donate to
Speaker 1: a specific program, including through six thousand. You can also
Speaker 1: make sure that you find a digital cookie link because
Speaker 1: our cookies sale is interrupted right now. It's the largest
Speaker 1: girl led business and we of girls who are not
Speaker 1: able to sell except for on their online stores. I
Speaker 1: was going to ask about the cookies because I feel
Speaker 1: like in this honor where everybody is, you know, stocking
Speaker 1: up on food, I think the Girl Scouts cookies are
Speaker 1: the way to go. So you're saying that the cookie
Speaker 1: link is on your main website, the cookie link will
Speaker 1: be will be available on our main website. It's also
Speaker 1: on our social and you'll be able to purchase directly
Speaker 1: from Chrom six thousands, so the proceeds all stay local
Speaker 1: and support girls in this shelter system. When you buy
Speaker 1: from Church six thousands, incredible. We'll be back after this break. Well,
Speaker 1: I know what makes me optimistic which is talking to you.
Speaker 1: But what makes you optimistic in this moment? Girls seeing
Speaker 1: seeing the solutions, uh, seeing how responsible they are in
Speaker 1: tech savvy, and knowing that as girls are working towards
Speaker 1: their higher rewards like ron, silver and gold, they are
Speaker 1: constantly problem solving and making our world a better place. Well,
Speaker 1: you know that the theme of Seneca Women is using
Speaker 1: your power for purpose, and clearly you are doing that
Speaker 1: in spades. Um. I have to say that when we
Speaker 1: were together a few years ago at the Metropolitan Museum
Speaker 1: of Art with troops six thousand, Uh, those young girls
Speaker 1: who took the stage, we're really, um, so incredibly inspiring
Speaker 1: and you could see that they are for sure we're
Speaker 1: going to be the leaders of tomorrow. So I really
Speaker 1: sincere thanks for everything you're doing in the middle of
Speaker 1: this crisis, everything you do every day, and please let
Speaker 1: us know if there's any other way we can help.
Speaker 1: We look forward to supporting you. Yeah, thank you so much.
Speaker 1: We appreciate it. You're listening to Seneca Women Conversations on
Speaker 1: Power and Purpose, brought to you by the Seneca Women
Speaker 1: Podcast Network and I Heart Radio with support from founding
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Speaker 1: great day.