Next year is the 25th anniversary of Girl Scouts Beyond Bars (GSBB)! This important program helps Girl Scouts build and maintain bonds with justice-involved loved ones, who get the opportunity to see themselves not as incarcerated individuals but as troop leaders having a positive influence on the youth in their life. Join us in celebration starting winter 2024, and in the meantime, hear from participant Jenny about her experiences in GSBB with her daughter, Shelby.
“I would like to give you an update on mine and my daughter’s life over the last 4.5 years since leaving WCCW/Mission Creek. I completed the CPA program, an associates college degree in Addiction Studies, became a homeowner, and secured a full-time job as a Substance Use Disorder Professional in an inpatient treatment center. Though things have not always been easy considering I lost my dad 11 months after releasing from prison and then in a tragic logging accident Shelby lost her dad in 2021, we continue to push forward, knowing we can get through this together with love and commitment—something that we demonstrated through nearly five years as members of Girl Scouts Beyond Bars.
I will never forget the commitment that GSBB showed us during some of the toughest years of our life and even beyond those gates. The commitment to bring Shelby in once a month, the awesome sleepover slumber party they put on yearly, the commitment even outside of the walls, the camps and field trips. I am forever grateful. Thank you, Cheryl, Ani, the rest, of the GSBB team, and our Girl Scout community; your commitment is very much appreciated and helps change lives.”