How You Can Help Others and Yourself in This Moment: A Lesson from the Girl Scouts

Today’s Girl Scouts—1.7 million girls strong—are the foundation of our future and striving to make a difference during the coronavirus crisis. Hear how troops around the country are innovating new ways to help their communities—and tune in for a lesson from them on how to create positive habits and even experience what researchers call “helper's high.” 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:04):
Welcome to this episode of Here's Something Good, a production
of the Seneca Women Podcast Network and I Heart Radio.
We are so grateful to our launch partners, founding partner
PNG and Bank of America. Together we're bringing you something
good every day, and it wouldn't be possible without their support.
Each day, we aspire to bring you the good news,

(00:24):
a silver lining, the glass half full, because there is
good happening in the world everywhere every day. We just
need to look for it and share it. Here's something
Good for today. Coronavirus has upended our lives on a
scale that is almost unthinkable. The last time the world
went through something like this was during the eighteen Spanish

(00:46):
flu epidemic. So we were fascinated to learn that in
a group of young women volunteered to feed twelve people.
The name of that group the Girl Scouts. Today's Girl
Scouts are one point seven million girls strong and just
as engaged in making a difference during COVID nineteen. You'll
be more than inspired when you learn what they've been
up to. We might also take a lesson from them

(01:07):
in this moment on how to create positive habits, make
a difference, and even experience what science calls helpers high. Now,
many of us were Brownies or Girl Scouts, and we
won't forget pledging to help people at all times. For
a hundred and eight years, Girl Scouts has been teaching
girls to empower themselves. Scouting builds confidence, competence, and leadership.
So when the coronavirus hit, the Girl Scouts knew they

(01:29):
had a role to play. I spoke to Meredith Mascara,
CEO of the Girl Scouts of Greater New York, and
here's what she had to say about how she's getting
inspiration in this moment. I will say my inspiration came
this weekend by seeing my mailbox full of girls doing
virtual troop meetings through Zoom and through teams, et cetera,

(01:50):
and finding solutions to what they can do within their
community right now to solve problems, whether that's delivering a
meal to a door up of an elder, uh checking
in on families who need umstance with their daycare. Girl
Scouts everywhere are helping out during the coronavirus. For instance,

(02:13):
one young woman in Alabama created several food pantries that
local communities have come to rely on, and across the
US five and six year old girls. Daisy Scouts are
sewing thousands of homemade masks and delivering them to pharmacies
and health care facilities. But what inspires us most today
is Girl Scout Troops six thousand, the troop created for
homeless girls in New York City. You may be surprised

(02:35):
to learn that there are actually ten thousand homeless girls
in New York and what started as a single troop
in has now expanded to all five boroughs and has
served more than girls living in shelters now. Life in
these shelters is never easy, and the coronavirus has made
it that much harder as many of these girls live
in high impact neighborhoods. But Troops six thousands making a

(02:55):
difference there by using the key traits of Girl Scouting, community,
con annuity, and a sense of belonging. Troop six thousands
participating in the Girl Scout twenty one Day challenge that
promotes self care and also teaches girls how to act
as leaders so they can help their parents and their
families for these difficult times. Why twenty one days because
it takes twenty one days to build a habit. Now,

(03:17):
Troops six thousand members are also doing their part to
support frontline workers through online Girl Scout cookie sales during
the crisis. All Girl Scout cookie sales are online and
you can buy cookies from Troops six thousand. The money
goes directly to fund their scouting activities as well as
help them stay connected to technology and WiFi, which is
really important right now so that they can stay connected
to learning. But you can also donate your cookie purchases

(03:41):
and the boxes will be sent to frontline workers and
families in need across New York City. So far, more
than sixty thousand boxes have been donated to healthcare workers
and their families. We're not surprised at Troops six thousands
rise into the challenges of the coronavirus. We've met some
of these girls and they are amazing. They are smart, positive,
and have a bright vision of the future. There's no
question that these girls are the leaders up tomorrow. As

(04:04):
the Girl Scouts know, the best antidote to a feeling
of helplessness and hopelessness is doing something that benefits others.
Science even has a name for this phenomenon. It's called
helpers High, and it's based on the theory and experience
that when you help others, it creates a positive feeling
in yourself, and studies have even shown that the brain
produces moodlifting endorphins. Given to others doesn't have to involve

(04:25):
a major contribution of time or money. Each of us
can give in ways large and small. One easy and
delicious way to help is to buy Girl Scout cookies
online and consider donating some of your purchase for sales
that specifically support Troops six thousand and To learn more
about the troop, go to Girl Scouts NYC dot org
slash Troops six thousand and. Here's something you can do
for yourself and your community while benefiting from a helper's high.

(04:48):
Get into the Girl Scout spirit, take a lesson from
Troop six thousand, and do just one thing a day
to support others during the crisis. You might even consider
taking the Girl Scout twenty one Day challenge and make
a habit out of help others and see if that
doesn't help yourself as well. Everyone every day has something

(05:12):
good to share, whether it's a story that inspired you,
a great tip that you've heard about, or something that
happened in your day that you're grateful for. If you
want to share your something good with us. Please email
us at something Good at Seneca Women dot com and
we may even share it with the world. Thank you
for listening, and please share today's something Good with others
in your life. This is Kim Azzarelli, co author of
Fast Forward and co founder of Seneca Women. To learn

(05:35):
more about Seneca Women, go to Seneca Women dot com
or download the Seneca Women app free in the app Store.
Here's Something Good is a production of the Seneca Women
podcast network and I Heart Radio, with support from founding
partner PNG and Bank of America. Have a Great Day.

(05:57):
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