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Girl scouts 100th anniversary special
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Aerospace Engineer Learned Leadership in Girl Scouts “As kids we’re not responsible for our environment or the choices our parents make,” Tinesha Ross tells Girl Scouts today when she volunteers. “You can be anything you want to be. If you have the will and determination, and let people know you have the desire to be something, they will help you.” Ross believes this from the depth of her being. A systems engineer with the United Launch Alliance (ULA) in Denver, Ross grew up in Fairfield, Ala., where 90 percent of the residents were on welfare. “We lived in public housing and were on every public assistance program possible,” says Ross, 35. She lived with her mother and three siblings in a home with no phone. There were also times where there was not electricity or running water, and very little food. “We would borrow water from neighbors to bathe and later use that water to flush the toilets. I looked forward to going to school because I knew I would have breakfast and lunch to eat.” The family had no car and, as most people in the neighborhood, they had never traveled outside their community. “We didn’t know how other people lived.” Girl Scouts changed Tinesha’s life. She remembers the day she was riding her bike around the park and noticed a group of little girls dressed in brown and green uniforms,
Girl Scouts on a membership drive. Though she was wearing a T-shirt and jeans, she wanted to see what was going on. She tucked in her shirt and went to the table where membership forms were being handed out. They let her stay and play games. Tinesha took the form home knowing full well her mother wouldn’t be able to pay the membership fee, which she says was about $20. She turned Ross has worked for Colorado-based ULA since it began operations. ULA the form in without the $20. is the nation’s rocket company – designing, building and launching rockA couple of weeks later, she ets carrying satellites into orbit for NASA, the Department of Defense and commercial customers. recalls, someone knocked on her door and invited her to her first Girl Scout to be turned around at the doctor’s office meeting at a church. This was the beginning of a because you do not have the right type of long journey where Tinesha developed charac- insurance,” she adds. ter and leadership skills through Girl Scouting. “Most cannot seem to figure out why I am At the age of 9, Tinesha’s mother died so determined, driven, and why I would rather when their house caught fire; she was only spend my free time volunteering and speak29 years old. ing to kids in inner city schools. I was the kid going to food banks for meals, receiving doTinesha ended up in foster care, but Girl nated school supplies, having strangers place Scouts remained a constant for her. “I know presents under our Christmas tree. I had no what it is like growing up in the system; and what it is like not to have; what it is like to have control over my circumstances growing up, the desire to do something but can’t because but now I am in full control of my future.” you do not have the means; I also know what “The Girl Scouts taught me that if you it is like to have dreams but to be told that have the desire, set goals, plan and commit your dreams won’t come true because your to working hard/making sacrifices, there are family doesn’t live in the right neighborhood; no limits!”
Alums are Re-engaging with Girl Scouts It is said, “Once a Girl Scout, always a Girl Scout.” And during the 100th anniversary Year of the Girl, we invite you to reconnect and learn how you can make a difference for Colorado girls.
An Invitation to Help Every Girl, Everywhere Be one in a million! We are introducing the One in a Million Campaign, an ambitious effort to raise funds for our leadership programs to serve 50,000 girls by 2015— especially those who are from disadvantaged, underserved and at-risk backgrounds.
Register online to receive regular news at alumnae.girlscouts.org and join the Girl Scouts of Colorado Alumnae group on LinkedIn. Girl Scouts of Colorado is also on Facebook, Twitter and has a blog you can subscribe to. We’d also like to hear how Girl Scouting helped make you the woman you are today. Please share your story at girlscoutsofcolorado. org/100th-anniversary. Other ways to re-connect Connect with friends both old and new at alumnae events. Highlights of our 100th anniversary celebration activities include: honoring 100 Generation Wow! Girls across Colorado, statewide birthday parties, a sing-a-long at the State Capitol and a Camp S’More singalong weekend at all three Girl Scout overnight camps. There will also be historical museum exhibits around the state, Forever Green and Earth Hour events and even flash mobs. Collectibles include Colorado’s special Girl Scout 100th anniversary license plate, a commemo-
rative coin created by the U.S. Mint and a Girl Scout book called Tough Cookies. Volunteer your time: we have so many flexible ways for you to participate and make a difference for the leaders of tomorrow: host a career exploration or cookies and milk event at your workplace, coach a one-day sports clinic, help girls build homes for the homeless or lead a week’s journey abroad. Donate an hour, a day, or more time – whatever fits your schedule. To get started, fill out the online volunteer application on our website at www.girlscoutsofcolorado.org. For more information on these and other anniversary activities, go to our alumnae website at girlscoutsofcolorado.org/donors/alumnae.
We need your help! In honor of our 100th anniversary, please consider a generous gift to Girl Scouts of Colorado. Your gift of $25, $50, $100, or even $384 — covering the annual cost of the Girl Scout Leadership Experience—will change lives by supporting leadership opportunities for future Women of Distinction. For more information contact Kim Lewis at 303-607-4869 or kim.lewis@gscolorado.org girlscoutsofcolorado.org 1-877-404-5708