Moorpark Girl Scouts seek to empower young women
By Sylvie Belmond belmond@theacorn.com

Steeped in tradition, Girl Scouting may have been around forever, but the opportunities it offers young girls are timeless. Members can develop values, ethics and leadership skills in a nurturing environment.

Scouting activities for members who range in age from 5 to 17 are diverse and may incorporate the arts, sports, business skills and outdoor challenges. Scouts volunteer for community service projects and many have the opportunity to travel to pursue their interests.

"It's truly a wonderful organization," said Debbie Woerner, mother of two teenage Girl Scouts.

Woerner earned her First Class Scout Award when she was a young woman. It helped her earn a full scholarship to college, she said. Now her daughter Allie, a senior at Moorpark High, is working with three classmates toward her Gold Award.

The Gold Award is the highest achievement a girl can earn in scouting. It is comparable to the Eagle Scout award earned by Boy Scouts.

The four young women working together toward that goal- Allie, Justine Levan, Jessica Manis and Jessie Vargo- have all been in Scouting for more than five years. They're writing a book called "By Girls, 4 Girls," about the transition from tween to teen for girls in grades seven to nine.

Each girl is writing two or three chapters, and each will have a different responsibility- marketing, graphic design, art or working on a website to support the book.

"They came up with the idea because they all had a hard time transitioning, and they wanted to help other girls," said Debbie Woerner.

"Girls have to put in a lot of time and effort to earn the Gold Award," she said. "A lot of prerequisites, service hours, leadership hours, career exploration, goes into this."

Scouting promotes teamwork and financial management skills as troops sell cookies and nuts to raise funds for their activities.

Membership in Moorpark Girl Scouts is growing now after several years of decline, according to Susie Jacobs, recruitment specialist for Moorpark.

Jacob's 10-year-old daughter Mandy helped to recruit about 100 new members this summer as part of her Bronze Award project. Now enrollment in Moorpark totals 367 Girl Scouts.

Membership is $10 a year, and help is available to families who can't afford to purchase the uniform and other necessities, said Olivia Niles, who works for the regional Girl Scouts organization and is the membership specialist for Moorpark.

Each troop is made up of about 10 to 20 girls, depending on age, and they meet every other week.

Parents can serve as troop leaders and chaperones for activities, Niles said.

"Moorpark has an amazing group of women; they always have wonderful events," she said. Local Scout leaders organize an annual summer camp, and they usually have a monthly event that brings troops together.

A '50s-style sock hop dance is set for 4 to 7 p.m. this Sun., Sept. 30 at the Boys & Girls Club of Moorpark, on Casey Road.

The event will give newcomers a chance to learn about some of the opportunities the organization has to offer, organizers said.

Moorpark Girl Scouts are associated with the newly formed Girl Scouts of the Central Coast. For more information about Girl Scouting, visit www.gstc.org or call Susie Jacobs, volunteer recruitment specialist for Moorpark, at (805) 517-1147 to join a troop.