Girl Scouts and Sigma Gamma Rho Help Girls Imagine Engineering Careers

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Dec 27, 2012, 10:32 ET

NEW YORK, Dec. 27, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA) has joined forces with Sigma Gamma Rho, one of the nation's largest African American sororities, to help build awareness of career possibilities in science, technology, and engineering among girls and parents in the African American community.

Working with local Girl Scout councils around the country, Sigma Gamma Rho's alumnae chapters have made GSUSA's Imagine Engineering initiative, funded by the National Science Foundation, a focus of the sorority's annual National Youth Symposium.

"Girl Scouting and Sigma Gamma Rho have the same goal: to build the nation's future leaders by helping girls dream big and accomplish much today," said GSUSA Chief Executive Officer Anna Maria Chavez. "We are delighted to be part of this partnership to help girls do great things in critical fields such as science, technology, engineering and math."

"Response to Imagine Engineering has been terrific," said Sigma Gamma Rho National President Bonita Herring. "We surveyed 250 girls who took part in the program, and more than two thirds of them said they now understood how 'someone like me' could become an engineer."

For more information on GSUSA's Imagine Engineering initiative, visit: www.girlscouts.org/imagineengineering/

"We will not only expand our efforts with this program, but we will reach out to girls nationwide in our communities with a combination of our own healthy living program, Project Reassurance, and the Girl Scouts' program for middle-school girls on healthy relationships and bullying," Herring said. "Through this continued partnership, we are going to do great things together for girls."

About Girl Scouts
Founded in 1912, Girl Scouts of the USA is the preeminent leadership development organization for girls, with 3.2 million girl and adult members worldwide. Girl Scouts is the leading authority on girls' healthy development, and builds girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place. The organization serves girls from every corner of the United States and its territories. Girl Scouts of the USA also serves American girls and their classmates attending American or international schools overseas in more than 90 countries. For more information on how to join, volunteer or reconnect with, or donate to Girl Scouts, call (800) GSUSA 4 U or (212) 852-8000, or visit www.girlscouts.org.

About Sigma Gamma Rho
Sigma Gamma Rho is a historically African American sorority, formed at Butler University in 1922. Its membership is 100,000, which includes 500 alumnae chapters in the United States, the Bahamas, Korea, Canada, Germany, and Africa. For more information go to the website at www.sgrho1922.org.

SOURCE Girl Scouts of the USA