Unique Girl Scout badges worth checking out
Last year, the Girl Scouts announced 24 new badges designed to help girls practice leadership in a few newly-focused areas. And we're totally fangirling over these options:
Entrepreneur
STEM Career Exploration
Automotive Engineering
Civics
Historically seen as male-dominated industries, TroopLeaderCentral.com notes: "In a year of unprecedented global change, our country’s need for strong, broad-minded, and decisive leadership has never been greater. Through new and existing programming, Girl Scouts equips the next generation of female change-makers with the breadth of knowledge and experiences they need to not only stand up for causes they care about but also take charge and do good for the world."So today we're taking a moment to reflect on unique Girl Scout badge options in these specific fields because what good it talking about it if we aren't giving leaders, Scouts and fans some action items?
Here are a few unique Girl Scout badges for 2021:
1.The Jiffy Lube Car Care badge
Fulfills: Automotive EngineeringAvailable for: JuniorsWe've long loved Jiffy Lube for getting us in/out from our car care appointments, but they've also quietly introduced a Girl Scouts partnership that amplifies the well, mechanics, of automotive engineering to these future female leaders. The Car Care badge for Juniors focuses on getting the ins and outs of basic car maintenance, investigating vehicle safety, researching safe driving practices, and learning what to do in the case of a car emergency. Couple the lessons with an in-store tour {available for ages 10+}, for a truly hands-on experience.
2. Coding badges with the Microsoft Store
Indiana Small Business - theCityMoms
Fulfills: STEM Career Exploration Available for: Brownies - Computer Expert, Juniors - Digital Photographer Juniors, Cadettes - Digital Moviemaker, and Daisies/Brownies - Robotics With this new partnership announced in 2019, the Microsoft Store serves to fill five badge options focused on STEM careers. The partnership also "aims to give girls vital digital skills and foster leadership qualities to help close the gender gap in STEM fields," per the Microsoft Store. Troop leaders are encouraged to arrange workshops with a community development specialist at their local Microsoft Store.
3. Talk with your favorite local female business owner
Fulfills: Entrepreneur Available for: Daisy - Toy Business Designer, Brownie - Budding Entrepreneur, Junior - Business Jumpstart, Cadette - Business Creator We're purposely keeping this one a little vague because as troop leaders know, Girl Scouts offers the flexibility to troops to fulfill a badge however they feel fit. With an entrepreneur badge, why not reach out to one of your favorite local female business owners to setup a store tour, a Zoom hour, or another opportunity to learn about how they got started? Each entrepreneur has her own story to learn from. Some of our favorites:
Asia Coffee, owner of Cakes By Coffee
Mandy Selke and Carly Swift, co-owners of Just Pop In
Kristin Kohn, owner of Silver In The City {and a Girl Scout mom to boot!}
Amy Peddycord and Jillian McAfee, co-owners of Invoke Yoga
Faith Blackwell, owner of Faith Blackwell Photography
ANOTHER GREAT READ?The women of Mass Ave; the female business owners of Indy's busiest corridor
Last but not least, while this post makes plenty of fuss over badges, the Girl Scout Patch program is equally as fabulous, with many different opportunities available to troops. A few worth highlighting:
I Support The Girls patch - available to troops interested in hosting a drive for menstrual products or who want to learn more about period poverty
Indiana Greenways patch - educating girls on the function and use of the Indiana Greenways System such as the Central Canal Towpath, Pogues Run Greenway, and more.
Conner Prairie Passport to Hi-Tech patch - an addition to this annual event for girls ages 7-12 to learn about careers in science, engineering, biology and other STEM discipline
Girl Scout troop leaders or parents - any other badges or patches you'd like to see us shout out? Hit us up.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Jeanine Bobenmoyer – like many moms – wears numerous hats including wife, mother of 2, trail runner, yoga-addict, Michigan native, die-hard Wolverines fan, Thai food enthusiast, and avid reader. After years spent in the world of advertising, she now curbs her Mad Men tendencies as theCityMoms’ Chief Mom Officer, Jeanine oversees all CityMoms operations, spearheads our expansion initiatives and management, and leads strategy across all business channels. Find her on Instagram.