I am an Ambassador in the Girl Scouts and am working on my Gold Award. I work with my local service unit. I co-lead a troop of seventh-graders. I work as a counselor for the local Girl Scouts day camp. And I would like to set the record straight about some things ("Boy Scouts change name to open door to girls," May 3).
First of all, Girl Scouts USA is not in financial trouble; in fact, we're doing amazing. Second, there are no plans for GSUSA and the Boy Scouts of America to combine. The Boy Scouts have decided that not enough people are joining and want to capitalize on the Girls Scouts' success by allowing girls to join.
Girl Scouts is an organization focused on empowering the next generation of women, and we are doing an amazing job at it. I would not be who I am without it. I personally know 51 girls who would be willing to go on record about how Girl Scouts shapes who you are.
The more girls who join the Boy Scouts, the more Girl Scouts suffers. I am pleading with all girls and parents who are considering joining the Boy Scouts, please stick with the Girl Scouts. We will not let you down. We will teach you not only how to cook, sew and do crafts, but also how to camp, carve wood, shoot archery and start a fire, and how to be a leader, how to stand up for yourself and others, how to respect the environment, and how to love yourself for exactly who you are. These are all things I have learned, and I promise you that you will never regret joining the Girl Scouts.
I understand that Boy Scouts is glamorous and gets a lot of recognition, but Girl Scouts has more heart. We have the passion and the drive to get up at 6 in the morning and go sell cookies, to sing our hearts out at camp, to keep practicing that knot until we get it perfect, and to never give up, no matter how many girls we lose. The Boy Scouts can try and poach our members, but we will never stop fighting for our girls and making sure that they get the full Girl Scouts experience and learn everything they possibly can.
So girls, stick with it. It's the best decision you'll ever make.
Alexandra Schaible, Lakeville
ELDER CARE AND NURSING HOMES
Yes, there have been abuses, but here's the other side
I realize that elder abuse is a sensitive subject to many people, because there certainly have been cases of severe abuse of elderly people under the care of nursing homes and/or individuals. I don't for a moment condone any of that. But there is another side to the story that I'm not hearing anyone talk about: that of those who work tirelessly in the care of the elderly with compassion and love.
I don't know of anyone in any workplace who comes under such close and detailed observance as those working in most nursing homes. Maybe the problem is that not all homes have such scrutiny, but the ones I'm aware of certainly do.