Girl Scouts' "Reality Check" Promotes Teen Self-Esteem

Four years ago when when we moved to the suburbs, a girl came to our door selling Girl Scout cookies. My oldest was three years old and was in awe. After ordering a year’s supply of Thin Mints and some other delicious cookies, I said goodbye. My daughter told me that when she grows up, she wants to be a Girl Scout.

Now in the first grade, and in her second year of Daisies, she was recently a “top seller” in her troop for a fruit and nut campaign. And she is gearing up to sell cookies this year to all of our friends and neighbors (be warned, she is a tough little sales girl!).

Girl Scouts has been around for a long time, and the staying power is amazing.

I was a Girl Scout, my mom was our leader and while I left the program in Junior High, I was happy to learn that Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana, the largest council in the nation, is beginning a new campaign. Reality Check, an interactive video campaign, is designed to empower girls ages 13-17, both Girl Scouts and non-Girl Scouts, to share the realities of their lives. You can see the video entries on their YouTube channel. It's about a campaign about "self-esteem, media literacy and today's technology to help girls understand how their own story is as important and exciting as those on reality TV."

“We wanted to become relevant with girls in their teen years, and find a way to keep Girl Scouts so important and relevant to teens,” says Chris Hauri, chief marketing officer of Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana. “We're talking about self-esteem, texting and bullying.”

And they've enlisted celebrities like America’s Next Top Model star Kasia Pilewicz to explain what reality tv is really like to Girl Scouts. “I'm a volunteer spokesperson and have been enjoying talking to teens about what it is like to be in reality tv and exposing what the modeling industry is really like,” says Ms. Pilewicz, who is also asked about what Tyra Banks is "really like" on a daily basis.

Ms. Pilewicz filmed a live discussion with teen Girl Scouts and Maria Wynne, CEO of the Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana, at Columbia College Chicago on October 13, 2011. The video is lengthy, but a worthwhile and eye-opening look at what girls are viewing and what they think about reality television.

As for her best advice to today's teens, she says, “Speak up. Stay true to yourself and go after what you want, don’t judge too much and keep an open mind.” The 26-year-old plus-size model from Wheaton, Illinois is currently living in New York City, modeling, taking acting classes and working on bettering herself. Being the face of the Girl Scouts reality campaign has helped her peers relate to inner beauty and reality.

“We also have an advisory panel called Reality Check Voices with bloggers and Girl Scouts volunteering on our board,” says Hauri.

With Girl Scouts being a huge part in over 86,000 girl’s lives in the Chicago/Northwest Indiana council, I for one was happy to hear that they are tackling issues that teens are facing on a daily basis. More and more Girl Scouts are staying in the program longer; 24,000 volunteers help make this possible. Many former Girl Scouts have become leaders, advisers and help with the cookie campaign. Many college students and adults who were impacted by the program stay on as volunteers, which helps keep the program running. Programs like Reality Check are making it relevant to the most impacted age group where teens are faced with peer pressure, self-image and trust issues.

As a mother of two Girl Scouts (hopefully four, once my younger two are old enough), it's reassuring to see such a wonderful, powerful group of young women making a difference in our society.

Tagged as: Girl Scouts of the USA, reality TV , social media, media and Girl Scouts