Passion to Action

We love finding new ways to share the incredible stories of Maine Girl Scouts with our community. In that spirit, we have launched a new podcast series, Passion to Action, in collaboration with Daughters of Change and First National Bank.

Passion to Action will spotlight some of our future leaders, amazing girls who are already out there making a difference through Girl Scouting. Told in their own voices, we will be highlighting the stories of Girl Scouts across Maine, featuring the incredible work these young “daughters of change” are doing, and the positive changes they are already making in their communities.

A big thank you to First National Bank for supporting Girl Scouts of Maine, making this new collaboration possible!

Podcast

Episode 15: A Place for Girls

Morgan Reilly is an adult Girl Scout and the program lead at A Place for Girls. She has two associate degrees, one in Accounting and one Business Administration from Central Maine Community College. She joined Girl Scouts of Maine as the program lead for A Place for Girls in September of 2019 and loves every minute of it.

Funded by the United Way of Maine, A Place for Girls is Girl Scouts of Maine’s comprehensive after-school program for elementary and middle school-aged girls. It is designed to help girls understand and follow positive values, build self-confidence, and improve healthy relationships.

In this episode learn more about:

Morgan’s experiences with Girl Scouts
How A Place for Girls serves girls and the community
How to get involved

If you are interested in getting involved with A Place for Girls as a volunteer or giving opportunities, please contact customercare@gsmaine.org.

Episode 14: The Many Facets of Creating Girl Leaders

Laura Genese, Marketing and Communications Director at Girl Scouts of Maine, has a unique perspective on how Girl Scouts builds girls of courage, confidence, and character. As a mother, troop leader, and employee, Laura has vast knowledge and experience when it comes to Girl Scouts. She said, “When the opportunity came up to work at Girl Scouts four years ago, I took it, and I’m so glad that I joined the team!”

In this episode learn more about:

Laura’s experiences with Girl Scouts
Opportunities offered by Girl Scouts
Why her work is so rewarding
The progression of her involvement with Girl Scouts
What she’s learned firsthand

Episode 13: Financial Literacy for Girls

On the latest Passion to Action podcast, we meet Jennifer Boynton and Michelle Curtis from First National Bank, two Daughters of Change who are passionate about teaching young girls and children about financial literacy. As parents and adults, teaching girls to be savvy about finances is one of the most important tools we can give them for their futures and it's never too late to start. Listen to the podcast on our webiste to hear tips and ideas about how you can get the financial ball rolling for the girls and young women in your lives.

In this episode, they discuss:

What a community bank is
Why it's so important for for girls and young women to understand having independent finances
Why it's never too early to start having these conversations with the girls in your life
Tips and ideas to teach girls and young women about finances
How these lessons build upon themselves as children grow
Resources available to help

Episode 12: Making the Most of Opportunities

Meet Jackie Newell, a lifetime Girl Scout, a Girl Scout Gold Award recipient, and a Member at Large for the Girl Scouts of Maine Board. She is a bilingual Fulbright Scholar who is in the process of getting her Masters of Science in Project Management at the Roux Institute.

As a Girl Scout, Jackie was able to go on many different adventures and experience new things—all of which helped her achieve a successful career as a project manager!

In this episode learn more about:

Jackie’s travel experiences
Her career
How to get involved with Girl Scouts

Episode 11: Preparing Girls for a Lifetime of Leadership

Girl Scouts of Maine is dedicated to preparing girls for a lifetime of leadership—in their own life and in the world. As women, we face a number of unique challenges, but we also have an unparalleled reach to make positive impacts. Girl Scouts is deeply committed to filing a pipeline of women leaders to make those impacts.

In this episode in collaboration with Daughters of Change and First National Bank, you’ll meet Kathleen Dean. She is a shining example of a burgeoning woman leader. As a Future Leaders Scholarship recipient, Kathleen is committed to community service. She said, “I am ready to take on this imperfect world and use my strengths and leadership abilities to pave the way for the next generation of girls and help them grow into women who will do the same for generations to come."

In this episode learn more about:

Kathleen’s love of community service
The importance of the lifelong friendships she has made
What she feels are some of the biggest challenges women and girls face today
How she is putting her leadership skills to work
Her plans for the future

Episode 10: Global Adventures for Girls

In this episode in collaboration with Daughters of Change and First National Bank, you’ll meet Shannon Johnson, a Girl Scouts of Maine volunteer and Travel Coordinator, and Greta Smallidge, a Girl Scout who loves to adventure and travel the world.

You’ll hear them discuss all of the travel opportunities and benefits that Girl Scouts of Maine has to offer, how girls thrive off of travel experiences, and how the girls discover a sense of empowerment and personal growth on each trip!

Girls can experience all that our country has to offer, whether they’re “blasting off” at Space Camp in Alabama, taking in a Broadway show in New York City, or visiting the birthplace of Girl Scouts’ founder, Juliette Gordon Low, in Savannah, Georgia. And they can plan even bigger adventures around the world, traveling with other Girl Scouts who share your love of adventure!

In this episode learn more about:

The progression of the travel program
The amazing adventures offered
Trips Shannon and Greta have taken
The personal growth and sense of empowerment the girls discover on each trip
How girls thrive because of travel experiences experiences

Episode 9: It's not just a box of cookies!

In this episode in collaboration with Daughters of Change and First National Bank, you’ll meet Kirstin Powell-Williams, Collaboration and Content Program Specialist, and Sophia Trickey, and Vivian Peavy.

You’ll hear them discuss the Girl Scout Cookie Program, and how it provides girls like Vivian and Sophia with an ability to learn, grow, and thrive through all of life’s adventures!

As the largest girl-led entrepreneurial program in the world, girls learn important life skills like financial literacy, and business ethics. All of which helps cultivate girls who are full of courage, confidence, and character!

In this episode learn more about:

What really is the Girl Scout Cookie Program?
How girls are putting their entrepreneurial skills to work for themselves, their troops, and their communities.
How these young women are blazing trails with cookie sales!

Episode 8: Reflections of a Young Leader

New Passion to Action Podcast episode...listen now.

Meet Gold Award Girl Scout and Pinnacle Awardee, Audrey Hankinson. Audrey is an extremely accomplished Girl Scout who earned her Bronze, Silver, and Gold Awards, is a Future Leadership Scholarship recipient, served as a girl member of the Girl Scouts of Maine Board of Directors, and is a counselor at Camp Natarswi. She also volunteers as part of the Gold Award Committee.

Now a sophomore in college and a lifetime member of the Girl Scouts, Audrey is studying American Sign Language and Theater.

In this episode learn more about:

Audrey's Girl Scout adventures and opportunities
Her time spent at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
The Student Conservation Association trip that took her out of her comfort zone and across the country, and what that led to
Audrey's Pinnacle, Bronze, Silver, and Gold Awards
Her work as a Girl Scout Alum
What she's doing now as a Future Leaders Scholarship recipient
How the Girl Scouts helped her become the leader she is today
Her plans for the future

Episode 7: Developing Determination, Skills, and Bonds for a Lifetime

A new Passion to Action Podcast has dropped! Listen in as we explore our Junior Maine Guide Program at Camp Natarswi and discover the determination and skills required for Girl Scouts to earn their JMG certification. You meet Tree, Vicky, and Delaney and learn how the Junior Maine Guide program helps develop our female leaders through determination, skills, challenges, and lifelong friendships.

Episode 6: The Importance of STEM for Girls

Listen to the latest edition of the Passion to Action Series in collaboration with Daughters of Change and First National Bank to meet Rhonda Forrester, a licensed Civil and Environmental Engineer and volunteer with Girl Scouts of Maine! Rhonda’s passion is being a mentor for one of the four key areas of focus in the Girl Scout Leadership Experience–Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM). In this podcast you'll hear about why Rhonda loves what she does, her passion for sharing STEM with girls, the variety of careers available, the financial security STEM offers, and why it's important for more girls to be going into STEM.

Episode 5: Building Leaders in the Great Outdoors

In this Passion to Action podcast in collaboration with Daughters of Change and First National Bank, you'll meet Kayla Norster, Outdoor Program and Adult Learning Specialist for the Girl Scouts of Maine, and Courtney Evans, Clinical Counselor, Troop Leader for two troops, and Adult Learning Facilitator for the Girl Scouts of Maine. Both women are deeply engaged and immersed in one of the four pillars that form the foundation of the Girl Scout Leadership Experience–the Outdoors. Listen to the podcast here to get the scoop about the different outdoor adventures and opportunities offered by the Girl Scouts and how you can get involved, young or old, and how Girl Scouts help build girls and adults of confidence, courage, and character, who make the world a better place.

Episode 4: Bringing Girl’s Voices to the Global Stage

In the latest podcast of the Passion to Action series in collaboration with Daughters of Change and First National Bank, you will meet Maine Girl Scout, 17-year-old Devlin Geisler–a high school senior, a very active member of the Girl Scouts of Maine, a volunteer for local organizations working with kids, and a summa cum laude honor roll student. You'll hear about her intensive efforts around the UN’s Commission on the Status of Women, the project she is working on for her Gold Award, and what she’s learned along the way. Listen to the podcast today!

Episode 3: Tiny Steps for Homeless Female Veterans

In the third podcast of the Passion to Action Series in collaboration with Daughters of Change and First National Bank, Marie Sola speaks with 17-year-old, Daughter of Change, Kasey Jordan of Tiny Steps. Kasey is working on her Gold Award Project, Tiny Steps, with a goal of helping homeless female veterans. Give it a listen!

Episode 2: You’re Never too Young to Accomplish Big Goals with Gold Award Girl Scout Rebecca Hatt

In this second podcast of the Passion to Action Series, Marie Sola speaks with 16-year-old, Gold Award Girl Scout, Rebecca Hatt. Rebecca shares her affinity for the arts, her Girl Scout Bronze, Silver, and Gold Award projects, why she chose the projects she did, her strategies to make these projects happen, and what she’s learned from being a Girl Scout. Listen now!

Episode 1: Passion to Action Kick-off with Joanne Crepeau and Susan Norton

In this first episode, Daughters of Change Founder, Marie Sola speaks with Sue Norton, former Girl Scout Troop Leader and Executive Vice President & Chief Administrative Officer of the First National Bank and our own Joanne Crepeau, CEO of the Girl Scouts of Maine. We will be discussing our mission for the Passion to Action Podcast, why it's important, what we hope to accomplish, and how Girl Scouts of Maine is building girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place. How cool is that?!

Facebook Live Replays

Developing Girl Leaders

Did you catch Maine Girl Scout Olivia Neely live? Watch the replay now and hear the story of Olivia, a high school senior, leader, and track and field star talk about her experience as a Girl Scout and how she embodies the Girl Scout mission.

Be a Role Model: Watch the latest Passion to Action Facebook Live brought to you by our partners, Daughters of Change and First National Bank! In this episode, host Marie Sola asks Kate McCarthy, Volunteer Support Manager with Girl Scouts of Maine and Ashlie Henderson and Elyse Bronson, co-leaders of Troop 1344 about how to become a troop leader, and how you can deepen your connection with your community, just like Girl Scouts do.
Financial Literacy for Girls!: Did you miss the latest Passion to Action Facebook live? Thanks to our collaboration with Daughters of Change and First National Bank, you'll get to see Marie Sola chat with Girl Scouts Penelope and Emilina, who prepared their own questions about financial literacy for special guest, Monique Bearce, from First National Bank! Watch the replay here!
Live with Pinnacle Award Girl Scout Maddie Buzza: Did you miss the last Daughters of Change Facebook live for the Passion to Action Series with Girl Scouts of Maine and First National Bank? Watch the replay now and hear the story of Maddie Buzza, a Pinnacle Awardee and a Future Leaders Scholarship recipient!

Maddie became a Girl Scout 13 years ago, and has been heavily involved ever since! She has had many notable achievements, like helping teach girls in Troop 187 about friendship, planting a memorial flower garden, and installing free libraries around her community. You won’t want to miss hearing about Maddie’s incredible leadership skills!
Your talents and experience have the power to change girls’ lives!: Did you know that Girl Scout camp promotes the development of a strong sense of self and leadership skills—in campers and staff?!

If you didn't catch our Passion to Action Live, you will want to catch the replay here to listen to our passionate outdoors and camp staff discuss all things camp. Plus, find out how you can bring impact to a young girl's life, by working or volunteering at Girl Scout camps.
Future Female Leaders: Did you miss this live? Catch the conversation here!

Allison Maurice is a Girl Scouts of Maine, Future Leaders Scholarship recipient. Currently, in her first year at Dickinson College. She plans to study either Chemistry and Environmental Science or Biology and Environmental Science.

Allison and I will discuss how Girl Scouts became her community, what she learned as a result, her lifelong love of STEM, and what she feels are the biggest challenges facing women and girls today.
From the Trail to the Maine Legislature with the Girls from Troop 30: Did you miss the latest Passion to Action Facebook live? Thanks to our collaboration with Daughters of Change and First National Bank, you'll get to see Marie Sola chat with the girls of Girl Scout Troop 30 from Mechanic Falls, Minot, and Poland, Maine. You'll hear about how these Girl Scouts earned their Bronze Award by working with their local legislators to improve the Minot Trail System for their community. Together, they drafted an act to fund wildlife rehabilitators and helped to not only get it passed, but get it funded too! You won't want to miss this! Watch the replay here.
Family Adventures in Girl Scouting: Did you miss the last Daughters of Change Facebook Live for the Passion to Action series with Girl Scouts of Maine and First National Bank? No worries, you can watch it here! In this episode Maria Sola speaks with our very own Samantha Lott Hale, Program Manager & Regional Office Supervisor, her husband Ben, a troop leader, and volunteer, and daughter Addie. They are a Girl Scout family!

Listen in to learn how the whole family can get involved in Girl Scouts, adventures, opportunities we have available, and the bonding experience this creates for the entire family–even the dads!
Passion to Action with Devlin Geisler: Did you catch Maine Girl Scout Devlin Geisler live? Watch the replay now and hear the story of 17-year-old Devlin, a high school senior, and Bronze and Silver Award Girl Scout, and Gold Award Candidate that was selected in 2020 to attend the UN’s Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) as a delegate for the Girl Scouts. Devlin and her fellow delegates had to swerve due to COVID cancelling CSW, which you will hear all about in this podcast. Ultimately, she was able to attend the CSW in March of 2021, followed by the Gender Equality Forum in July.
Protecting the Ocean with Ariadne Dimoula & Claudia Lowd: Daughters of Change was live on Facebook on August 13, 2021 featuring inspiring Girl Scout Alum mother-daughter team Ariadne and Claudia to discuss how Girl Scouts shaped their lives, what they saw that they wanted to change, how they are putting that change into action, the journey that brought them to where they are today, and some sage advice for other daughters of change. Watch the replay below.
Passion to Action Podcast Introduction: Daughters of Change was live on Facebook on July 15, 2021 with Joanne Crepeau, CEO at Girl Scouts of Maine and Sue Norton, Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer of the First National Bank to talk about our latest collaboration, the Passion to Action Campaign. Watch the replay here to learn more about how Girl Scouts are making a positive impact every day as leaders in their communities across Maine.