Girl Scout Program Help Young Adults Learn To Be Safe And Handle Stress

 DANBURY — Girl Scouts from Newtown were among almost 100 girls ages 11 to 17 from 11 towns and cities in Fairfield County who participated in the Girl Scout Council of Southwestern Connecticut’s April 9 “Don’t Sweat It!” event. The program was open to the public and attracted a number of non-Girl Scouts to a fun, fast-paced day focusing on how to be healthy and safe and how to handle stress.

Following an opening talk by model and international TV actress Aly Dunne, who spoke on the importance of recognizing one’s own beauty, having good self-esteem, and making wise choices, the girls rotated through a series of workshops. Senior Girl Scouts led a session where girls created collages that focused on their positive personality traits to foster self-esteem. Mary Kay consultants discussed the importance of personal health and showed the girls several techniques for better skin care.

Karate instructors led a session on self-defense that stressed keeping healthy, being aware of one’s surroundings, and making wise decisions to avoid bad associations and dangerous situations. The experts also taught the girls some techniques to protect themselves from physical harm.

Senior Girl Scout Program Aides who had been trained in the Girl Scout Council’s Girlz RULE (Respect, Understanding, Leadership, Empowerment) program that uses team challenges to develop respect for self and others and to reduce behaviors that can lead to conflict, bullying and violence led the girls in a variety of activities. During the exercises, girls had to use listening and communicating skills to identify and discuss options to solve problems and to cooperate to complete assignments in record time.

To deal with stress, girls were introduced to two very different outlets – yoga and flower arranging – with hands-on activities taught by area professionals, one of which was Judy Grabarz of Newtown Florist.

The “Don’t Sweat It!” program was the official launch of Studio 2B, a flexible new program option that encourages girls to help design their activities and participate in the proven benefits of Girl Scouting in new ways that are meaningful and appealing to them. Up-to-date topics use a series of Focus books and earned charms. The “Don’t Sweat It!” Focus book covers the very real problem of stress.

 The event, which was held at Rogers Park Middle School in Danbury, was partially underwritten by a grant from the Girl Scouts of the USA’s initiative “Take It to the Girls” and is another example of how Girl Scouts provides interactive activities where girls learn new skills to succeed in life while enjoying fun and friendship.

The Council – which serves girls ages 5 to 17 in the 15 Fairfield County communities of Bethel, Brookfield, Danbury, Darien, Greenwich, New Canaan, New Fairfield, Newtown, Norwalk, Redding, Ridgefield, Stamford, Weston, Westport and Wilton – invites girls and caring adults who are eager to help girls develop their potential to contact the council at www.gscswct.org or call 203-762-5557 to learn more about Girl Scout opportunities in the region.