Excerpt from remarks at the 2018 Annual Meeting

By: Linda Foreman, GS-NCCP Board Member, Daisy Chain Member, and Juliette Gordon Low Society Member

I believe one of the most important words in our Girl Scout vocabulary is YES.

This short, powerful word is the essence of our commitment to girls.

By virtue of being involved in Girl Scouts — of the roles you hold and the many hats you wear: troop leader, parent, alumnae, Gold Award Girl Scout – you have said and are saying YES.

You are saying YES to girls. YES to our Movement. YES to the values that make us special. YES to what makes us the best place for girls to learn and grow. And the girls are saying YES to our programs – programs that change lives and communities.

I am in awe of my Girl Scout Sisters: how they lead, how much they do, how much they give. I’m in awe of how they lead by example: saying yes in ways that matter most.

YES, you, young lady, are important!

YES, you can be [whatever]!

YES, you can do [whatever]!

YES, I’m here to help.

Many of us are involved in the Girl Scout Movement because others said YES for us and to us. Sixty years ago, my mom and a couple of other moms said YES to (you know the line) about an hour a week! They said YES, it’s important to have a Brownie troop in this small, then rural area in Maryland.

My folks said YES to camp, even though the idea held no magic for them—and was a stretch. By saying YES, they created magic for me. They then said YES to working at camp. You want to spend the summer where? Doing what? Making how much?

Later, as a mom myself, leaders and staff here in North Carolina said YES and helped me be able to say YES to my daughter and help her find a great troop and have a wonderful Girl Scout experience.

Recently, I feel lucky that the council and delegates said YES, by way of “welcome back” and enabled me to continue to serve as a board member for Girl Scouts – North Carolina Coastal Pines.

For me, YES, is really stewardship of our Movement: YES to giving beyond our time and skills, YES to giving beyond an annual gift, and YES to securing their future as others secured mine.

It is saying YES another time, another way, seizing an opportunity and making a gift.

I am proud to take that step, to say YES to the Juliette Gordon Low Society for Girl Scouts of the USA. YES to the Birthplace. YES to a planned gift to Girl Scouts – North Carolina Coastal Pines.

It’s an easy YES. Another YES for girls. Join me at YES.

 

The Juliette Gordon Low Society honors friends who chose to make Girl Scouts a part of their legacy as a beneficiary of their estate plans. In 2017, Girl Scouts of the USA announced a Planned Gift Challenge that could result in over $2 million in support for our Movement – and which contains $14,000 for Girl Scouts – NC Coastal Pines – unprecedented in our history! To learn more about how to say YES to a planned gift, visit us online https://www.nccoastalpines.org/en/donate/juliette-gordon-low-society.html or contact Alison T. DeCinti via email or at 919-600-6309.