GSCNC's Linguistic Outreach Program

Want to help? Know a second language?

Our Council has a Linguistic Outreach Program. We have four Linguistic Outreach positions: two full-time Outreach Specialists for the Spanish speaking community, and are currently looking for two part-time Specialist for the Asian community. But the program is not limited to these three communities. Our staff is dedicated to making Girl Scouting available to each and every girl between 5 and 18 years of age and we work hard to ensure that a language barrier is not a problem for those who would like to join.

GSCNC actively seeks the involvement of girls from underserved populations. Individualized programs have been created to reach communities where barriers to participation, such as language or income, may exist.

In 1995, this commitment to recruit the underserved saw increased enrollment among girls in Vietnamese and Hispanic/Latino immigrant communities and among girls with disabilities. Our efforts attracted national attention when the Coalition on Educational Initiatives recognized our efforts with an honorable mention in the 1995 "Community Solutions for Education Awards" identifying outstanding programs that improve learning opportunities for young people.

Linguistic Outreach

GSCNC's Linguistic Outreach troops are the product of campaigns targeting children of immigrant families. Through Linguistic Outreach Specialists, who use their knowledge of the community to inform and recruit girls and adults. Through adults volunteers from the same communities, troop meetings are conducted in the girls' native language to help them conserve their native language at the same time that they acclimate to the American way of life.

Formal Outreach To The Vietnamese Community

Formal Outreach To The Vietnamese Community was inaugurated in 1994. Vietnamese Outreach troops primarily serve newly-arrived refugees, with many of the families having at least one family member who was a prisoner in communist re-education camps.

Such troops do not constitute the sum total of Asian and Pacific Island girls involved in Girl Scouting in the area; indeed, hundreds of girls of Asian origin can be found in traditional troops throughout our jurisdiction.

Hispanic/Latino Outreach

HISPANIC/LATINO OUTREACH has been integral to council operations since 1988. Recent developments have seen the hiring of two full time Spanish-speaking Linguistic Outreach Specialist for the Hispanic community to assist with troop organization and volunteer development. They also support a "mentor program" that was developed to provide additional support for new leaders who need a little extra "hand holding" to get started.

At-Risk Communities

GSCNC serves children in temporary living shelters located primarily in the 14th Street Corridor in D.C. and the Route 1 Corridor in Alexandria. Participation does not end with the family's departure from the shelter; we have a tracking program that allows us to place girls into troops in their new neighborhoods. Community-based Summer Day Programs serves youngsters in at-risk or linguistically isolated communities. Direct Service Troops, a program which sees council supporting troops as we develop leadership in areas where adult volunteers are hard to find, serves girls in troops. Most of these troops will become self-supporting within two years.

Juvenile Offenders

GSCNC has established Girl Scout troops in several area juvenile correctional facilities. Girls are being served in troops at the Girls Probation House in Fairfax County, Fairfax County Juvenile Detention Center, and the Northern Virginia Detention Center. Special groups have been formed at residential group homes in both Annandale and Falls Church. At the present time, a troop is being established to serve girls at Aurora House, a post-dispositional group home located in the City of Falls Church.

Girls With Disabilities

GSCNC serves girls with disabilities, including those with learning, hearing, physical, and visual disabilities, and girls with mental retardation. Most are mainstreamed into existing troops although there are troops in specialized schools such as Sharp Health School in D.C. and the Northern Virginia Training Center. Camp Potomac Woods, one of three GSCNC resident camps, offers outdoor educational opportunities to girls who are hearing or visually impaired or have physical disabilities. Youngsters are mainstreamed with other campers and enjoy a full slate of activities. The council's five day camp sites also are accessible.

Features