By Carol Dedrich, Chief External Relations Officer of Girl Scouts of Greater Los Angeles and Dawn Nolan, Senior Vice President, Program & Administration of Girl Scout Council of Greater New York

This past week, 100 Girl Scouts in New York City and Los Angeles participated in Yahoo!’s Purple Acts of Kindness program. These girls were empowered to make a difference in the lives of girls and women around the world by designating $50 each to one of dozens of organizations in developing countries through Global Giving.  Girl Scouts were given the opportunity to address critical issues like youth trafficking, bonded servitude, legal defense, clean water, and support for victims of domestic violence. Check out some of their experiences below.

Troop 1350 in the Bronx

Girl Scout Seniors from the Bronx donated to several charities like one in India that teaches women to run their own businesses and another in Kenya that benefits female survivors of sex trafficking. Alessandra, who chose an organization supporting female South African refugees, said that the project helped her to “know the value of giving to ones truly in need.” Abby, Victoria, and Brianna donated money to provide affordable sanitary pads for 1,500 Ugandan girls, saying, “It was hard to think about girls missing necessary stuff like that.”

The Casa Esperanza After-School Site Program in Chatsworth, CA

Juniors and Cadettes at the Casa Esperanza Program in Chatsworth donated their money to support victims of domestic violence, building projects in developing nations, and leadership programs for vulnerable women and girls. Aurora, who gave money to train 300 destitute Kenyan girls for self-reliance, told her program leader that she “wanted to help [the girls] become more independent.” Cynthia chose to support children of domestic violence survivors simply “because they need to stop getting hit.”

Brooklyn, Troop 2696 & Inglewood, Troop 7045

The girls of Troop 2696 made a group decision and contributed their 10 gift cards totaling $500 to the Kenya Legal Defense Fund for Adolescent Girls to maximize their impact on a cause they were passionate about. The Troop 7045 Cadettes of Inglewood, California also pooled their funds to provide aid to save lives with clean water in an Indian village. Troop Leader Cynthia Herron was astounded by the project’s effect on the girls, saying, “They wanted to be a part of helping someone else’s survival. It’s not ME ME ME anymore. It’s THEY THEY THEY.”

From New York to Los Angeles, one thing remains constant - with the help of Yahoo!, Girl Scouts across the nation were given the opportunity to actively engage in helping others.  As Isabella of Eastern Los Angeles put it, “It’s a great thing that Yahoo! has allowed me to help other girls and a cause that I believe in.”