IU Southeast provides community outreach through ‘Girl Scouts Beyond Bars’By Susan Williams | |
 At IU Southeast, Marcia Segal, associate vice chancellor for academic affairs and dean for research, serves as chair of the Kentuckiana Girl Scout Council’s advisory board for “Girl Scouts Beyond Bars.” The program serves girls whose mo thers are incarcerated, but in addition to the mothers and daughters, volunteers reap countless rewards in service. | Today’s Girl Scout troop members still make “sit-upons” and “somemores;” they st
ill earn badges and strive to become good citizens of the world. But today’s Girl Scout organization also is significantly different than the one most of us remember. As the result of aggressive outreach to all girls from kindergarten through high school,
Daisies, Brownies, Cadets and Seniors are thriving in society’s nooks and crannies—including housing projects, shelters for the homeless and among those girls whose mothers are incarcerated.
At IU Southeast, Marcia Segal, associate vice chancellor for academic affairs and dean for research, serves as chair of the Kentuckiana Girl Scout Council’s advisory board for “Girl Scouts Beyond Bars,” a program serving girls whose mothers are incarcerat ed, in this case at the Kentucky Correctional Institute for Women (KCIW) in Louisville. In a U.S. Department of Justice publication, Segal read about the project and thought that it might lead to opportunities for funding. “Several other faculty here became involved,” said Segal, who cited recently retired education professor Kela O. Adams and nursing professors Anita Hufft, who is now teaching at Louisiana State University, and Mimi McKay. “Mimi incorporated Girls Scouts B eyond Bars into a Campus Compact project to promote student volunteer service.” Another person involved in the start-up was Frances Fach, now executive director of the Kentuckiana Girl Scout Council. Interestingly, Fach was IU Southeast’s first graduate in the women’s studies program. “After about a year of working to get the program set up, the troop began meeting in 1995,” said Segal. “We now have around 30 girls from age 5 through high school. In fact, we recently formed two ‘sub-troops’ to accommodate age-appropriate activities.” < br> Segal said that both the girls and their mothers benefit from Girl Scouts Beyond Bars. The program helps to strengthen and support their relationships. Mothers who have been released from incarceration can be active in working with the troop alongside the ir daughters, and the organization unites incarcerated mothers and their daughters twice a month for Scout meetings and activities at KCIW. A couple times a year, there are even mother-daughter sleep-overs there. “This project has made a major contribution to many lives—the girls, the mothers, and, significantly, the volunteers who work with them,” said Segal. “It is a perfect example of outreach for our campus, because it allows us to direct energy, interest and expertise to a local need.” |
IU Home Pages
400 E. 7th Street. Bloomington, IN 47405
Phone: (812) 855-6494
Publication date: October 13, 2000
Comments: homepgs@indiana.edu
Copyright 2000, The
Trustees of Indiana University