Helping hurricane survivors
When last month’s The Golden Link went to press,
Hurricane Katrina had recently occurred. Now, Hurricane
Rita has devastated the lives of many in eastern Texas
and western Louisiana. Girl Scouts continue to come
to the aid of those affected by the hurricanes with
compassion and an outpouring of support and assistance.
There will be a continuing need to support the relief
efforts in our area and many more opportunitues to help
in the weeks and months ahead. Please continue to check
the Web site and send us your stories at hurricaneaid@sjgs.org.
Stories we have received are posted at www.gssjc.org,
and a sample of some of the great things Girl Scouts
have done to help others can be found on the following
page. |
Who speaks for the children?
 Barbara
McCormick, President and CEO of CHILDREN AT RISK feels that
Girl Scout leaders are the biggest advocates for girls across
the Council and thanks you for helping to strengthen the voice
for children. CHILDREN AT RISK advocates for children. Their
motto is Speaking Out and Driving Change for Children.
McCormick was a Girl Scout in Bend, Oregon and a troop leader
in GSSJC!
Her proudest moment as a co-leader was when her troop received
the Girl Scout Silver Award! McCormick always enjoyed her
government classes, finding them so interesting that she volunteered
with Interfaith Ministries to teach congregations about the
legislative process (how bills are passed) with the focus
on the anti hunger bill – which passed mandating schools
with a certain percentage of low income children to serve
breakfast. She went to work professionally with Interfaith.
In the late 1980s, she and a group of community volunteers
felt that Harris County children needed more attention, and
CHILDREN AT RISK was born. Our Texas sister Girl Scout cities
of San Antonio, Austin and Fort Worth also have an organization
like CHILDREN AT RISK.
Girl Scouts, community groups and schools participate in
a volunteer project Gifts With Heart, which CHILDREN AT RISK
helps to sponsor. Through this project, the community learns
how children in Harris County are doing and where assistance
is needed. This information helps the gift makers understand
why some children won’t be receiving holiday gifts as
well as the heart-breaking problems that children face every
day in their lives. The recipient of the gift also understands
that people in the community really care about every child,
even those they don’t know. There is a lot of hope generated
when that happens.
Children need an advocate everyday. Why? There are many
working families with children who cannot afford health care
or after-school programs. They can pay for some but not all
of these services to keep their children healthy and safe.
Some children are homeless in our community. Our city, county
and state have programs that help very low-income families.
 CHILDREN
AT RISK is effective due to research on the status of children
and knowing what is happening in their lives. Their publication
Growing Up In Houston: Assessing the Quality of Life of Our
Children goes to community organizations, service providers,
elected officials, congregations, and schools every two years.
Growing Up in Houston: Assessing the Quality of Life of Our
Children can be obtained by calling 713-869-7740 or visiting
www.childrenatrisk.org.
Copies are free for Girl Scouts.
Watch for the CHILDREN AT RISK workshop for Girl Scouts
in 2006!
GSSJC
Girl Scouts help distribute Gifts with Heart at the 2004 celebration.
From left to right: Nicole B., Meagan P., Lauren H., Robyn
V. and Kayla M.
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Each
month, this column will inform Juliettes, troops, groups,
service units or any variety of Girl Scout Families of potential
service projects.