At Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois, we believe that when girls succeed, so does society. With your support our girls develop leadership skills that enable them to achieve anything and everything they want to be, whether it is an engineer, a musician or a teacher. Girl Scouting empowers girls to work hard and to achieve their dreams - girls like Lainey.
Lainey became passionate about helping senior citizens when she began visiting her former babysitter at a nursing home. Lainey started volunteering at the nursing home, but wanted to do more. She began by creating activities for the residents. Lainey decided to turn this work into her project to earn the Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest award in Girl Scouting. The experience of making sensory items for seniors with Alzheimer's disease instilled in Lainey a desire to continue to serve her community.
Lainey planned to attend community college to begin her nursing career with an associate degree. However, because of the courage and confidence that Lainey's Girl Scout experience instilled in her, she decided to stretch and also applied to SIUE's Bachelors of Nursing program. She was not only accepted, but also offered a full scholarship based, in part, on her community service and leadership skills.
Lainey credits Girl Scouts not only for amazing experiences, but also for helping her become a responsible person. She believes that if not for Girl Scouts, she would not have had the confidence to apply to SIUE, been accepted into the university or received her scholarship. "They want a Girl Scout," Lainey states, referring to schools and employers, "because they realize the leadership and confidence it teaches."
Please consider a gift to GSSI's ToGetHerThereCampaign. With your help, Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois can continue to provide enriching leadership experiences to girls just like Lainey. Together, we will get her there.
