NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August
2, 2007
CONTACT: Mary Riherd Broomfield, Marketing and Public Relations Director
(626)
445-7771, ext. 313, mbroomfield@gsmwvc.org
Advocacy: A Key Component of Helping Girls
Girl
Scouts Travel to State Capital to Learn About Education and Advocacy
Five Girl Scouts from Mt. Wilson Vista Council traveled to Sacramento earlier this
year to join Girl Scouts from across the state for the 2007 Girl Scout Advocacy Day.
Girl Scout Councils from the entire
state converged on the State Capitol for two days of education and advocacy. Girl Scouts learned how to be effective advocates
for issues that are important to girls and met with legislators and public officials about two bills in the California Legislature
that the Girl Scout Councils of California (GSCC), a coalition of all 20 California councils, is supporting.
Girl Scouts
Gina Cook, Jacklyn Freyberger, Marissa Robertson, Lindsey Thrower, and former Youth Advisor to the GSMWVC Board of Directors,
Katherine Lam, represented the council at the conference, traveling with council president Debbie Williams, council CEO Brenda
Berg, and advisor Vicke Thrower.
“Throughout the three days we were up in Sacramento we became close friends,
learned about advocacy together, and had a once-in-a-lifetime chance of lobbying directly to our legislators,” Lam said.
The
two-day, bi-annual program, sponsored by GSCC, included learning about careers in public policy, the legislative process,
and how to be effective citizen advocates. The exciting event, now in its second year, is intended to facilitate the participation
of Girl Scouts in California’s government.
“I am convinced that there is no better way to be immersed in
advocacy than with my fellow California Girl Scouts,” said Lam. “I felt like I was becoming a real-life professional
advocate.”
Girls also met with legislators and public officials to discuss two bills in the California Legislature,
AB 345 (Saldana) and AB 346 (Beall), related to alcopops, or flavored alcoholic beverages.
Alcopops, also known as
“girlie” drinks, are often sold in convenience stores alongside beer and soda and are designed and marketed as
“entry-level” beverages for underage drinkers. They are popular with young girls since their alcohol taste is
concealed by sweet, fruity flavors.
A recent study by the American Medical Association (AMA), entitled “Girlie
Drinks” found that girls as young as 13 years old were drinking alcopops and that one-third of teen girls have tried
them. According to the AMA, while underage drinking has decreased slightly in the last few decades, alcopop consumption is
on the rise among girls.
“In Girl Scouting, advocacy is a key component of helping girls to develop their full
potential and become competent and resourceful citizens,” said Brenda Berg, Chief Executive Officer of Girl Scouts –
Mt. Wilson Vista Council. “Our advocacy efforts seek to inform and educate policy-makers and community leaders on the
issues that directly affect girls.”
California law is designed to
regulate the sale and availability of alcohol through the appropriate classification and taxation of alcoholic beverages.
The state has different levels of taxation and classification. Distilled spirits (or hard liquor) are taxed at a higher rate
and sold only at stores/restaurants/bars that hold “hard liquor licenses.” Distilled spirits are also tightly
regulated in terms of where they are placed in relation to non-alcoholic drinks and are subject to marketing/advertising regulations.
The government taxes them at a higher rate and places restrictions on these products in an effort to limit their availability
and ensure these products are not advertised to underage drinkers. Beer and wine are taxed at a much lower rate and have less
stringent regulations placed on them.
AB 345(Saldana) would allocate the increased money generated
by changing the tax classification of alcopops from beer to distilled spirits to the prevention of underage drinking (estimated
to be about $50 million a year). The Girl Scouts is also supporting AB 346 (Beall) that seeks address the growing problem
of underage drinking through improved labeling on alcoholic packaging.
Girl Scouts’ advocacy
efforts seek to inform and educate policy-makers and the community about issues such as this that directly affect girls. Girl
Scouts provides an environment where girls have a support system to become their best selves and build the courage, confidence
and character needed to face difficult situations and make informed decisions in a world full of challenges and choices.
For more information, log on to www.cagirlscouts.org.
To read featured news stories that have appeared on the Homepage in
past weeks, click here.
