April 12, 2004

It's not just about the cookies
Posted by diane@downtownwomensclub.com">Diane Danielson at 11:16 AM -

The Girl Scouts was not really the most progressive organization back when I wore the uniform. In the old days, in addition to selling thin mints and samoas, we also had to earn badges that included sewing (not my strong point), cooking (again, not my strong point), and camping (my first and last camping experience - I only did it for the badge). But the Girl Scouts of today have many more badge options - from Business to Aerospace to CyberGirlScout - and a lot more learning opportunities.

In Sunday's BostonWorks section, columnist Maggie Jackson outlines a weekend spent at the Patriots' Trail Girl Scouts' "Camp CEO," the goal of which is to encourage young girls to go into business.

''Even though boys don't know much about business, they still perceive it as a place they would go as a career," says Gail Deegan, a retired publishing executive who is on the board of the Patriots' Trail Girl Scout Council and helped create Boston's Camp CEO. ''Girls really rank helping others and making the world a better place as key motivators in choosing careers -- and they don't see how business fits with that."

But the Girl Scouts are trying to change that perception. And the 15 girls at last weekend's camp, who worked their way through paycheck calculations and projected cash flow sheets, learned a lot more than simply how to sell the most cookies.

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