Wow - what an amazing performance of America the Beautiful by Maria and Chad from the Savannah Voice Festival. The video of the performance is on our Facebook page and you should check it out! https://www.facebook.com/RotaryClubofSavannahEast/ Maria and Chad reminded everyone that the Savannah Voice Festival is from August 4 - 26. There are 114 singers from 14 different countries who will be performing. After Maria and Chad were finished talking about the festival and educational outreach programs, President Cindy Kelley asked if anyone would want to be a host family for the new GRSP student Luise who is from Germany. If you have any interest, please contact Cindy. Once all Rotary business items were discussed, Laura Lane McKinnon introduced our speaker for the day, Sue Else, who is CEO of Girls Scouts of Historic Georgia.
Sue began her talk by giving us a few fun facts about Girls Scouts: 1. It is over 100 years old, 2. 100% of US Secretary of State are Girl Scouts, 3. 85% of women astronauts are Girl Scouts, 4. There are 59 million Girl Scout alumni across the country, 5. The Thin Mint cookie is the 2nd best selling cookie in the US next to Oreo and the Thin Mint is only sold six weeks out of the year. Girl Scouts works with young girls to help them become leaders by offering opportunities to those who might not have had them otherwise. They have a strong value system that has resulted in increased educational attainment and an increase in self confidence for those who come through the program.
The Girl Scouts have an award called the Gold Award which is the most prestigious award for girls in the world. In order to qualify for this award, you must present a sustainable project. Those who receive the award are eligible for 40 different college scholarships. This past year, there were 6 girls from Savannah who were "Gold Girls."
QuestFest is an event hosted by the Girl Scouts of Historic Georgia and is a fundraiser for this area. The fest is educational and gives back to the community. Last year, they had over 1200 Girl Scouts from over 28 states participate in the event and donated 1800 books to United Way. If you would like to get involved in the next QuestFest, they are always looking for volunteers and sponsors.