By Nephitearya Bailey, Program Director

 “The work of today is the history of tomorrow, and we are its makers.”- Juliette Gordon Low

In late January, the it²– Inspire Today, Inspire Tomorrow- Girl Advisory Team was revitalized bringing together twenty girls from across our 41-counties to help represent the voice of girls at Girl Scouts – NC Coastal Pines. This advisory team provides girls, in all areas of our Council, an opportunity to share their experiences and opinions on our current Girl Scout program and options available to teens in Girl Scouting.

Members of the advisory team give input on Girl Scouting and girl issues at large, Council programming and publications, and represent girl membership the Council at meetings and conferences. The current advisory team members range in grade levels from 8 – 12 and represent Durham, Chatham, Columbus, Johnston, Wake and Wilson counties.

Over the past few months, the girls have provided feedback on our annual Lead On and Go! publications sharing their likes, suggestions for improvement, and what they would like to see included in future issues. The girl-led team is also working to plan a Council-sponsored event designed especially for and by teen Girl Scouts.

The team’s goal is two-fold: to keep older girls engaged in Girl Scouts by providing them with fun opportunities, and to also use the group as a support system for keeping themselves involved with the organization and its leadership development program. In June, the team will meet with CEO Lisa Jones to share both their experiences in Girl Scouting and offer their views for strategies to keep girls involved in the Girl Scout movement.

Lead by volunteer advisors Rebecca Daniels, Sarah Hodges and Cynthia McNeil, the following girls are serving on the 2013 team: