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Local Girl Scout Council to host voting, civic engagement event

The event will offer a fun and engaging day of activism encouraging children and teens that they can have a voice, support a cause they believe in and make a difference through voting.
Photo courtesy of the Girls Scouts of Southern Appalachia.

Knoxville — The Girl Scouts of the Southern Appalachians are sharing the power of voting and dedication to civic engagement and activism through a special event.

Girl Scouts Get Out the Vote will take place on Saturday, Oct. 27 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at West Town Mall, in front of JC Penney and the new children’s play area.

Photo courtesy of the Girls Scouts of Southern Appalachia.

The event will offer a fun and engaging day of activism encouraging children and teens that they can have a voice, support a cause they believe in and make a difference through voting.

Families can drop in any time during the event to cast their vote for the issues most important to them. There will be a separate voting stations for parents and for kids and teens,

They hope to open a dialogue for families to discuss how voting can impact results and how what people value as the most prominent issues can vary across groups of people and ages.

The results will then be shared on social media.

Those who vote will receive a “Girls Vote Too” sticker and other free giveaways like bracelets and pens while learning about how their voice matters. Current Girl Scouts will also can receive a patch for participating in the event.

No matter political beliefs, the Girl Scouts Get Out the Vote event will demonstrate why it’s critical to raise future voters and to teach children the significance. Civic engagement is a topic that Girl Scouts, as an organization, holds at its core—inspiring girls to be leaders in their own lives by building courage, confidence and character.

Girl Scouts of the Southern Appalachians CEO Lynne Fugate feels the event will help young girls understand they possess the power to advocate for positive change in their own communities.

“Every girl has a voice and can stand up against everyday injustices and issues,” said Fugate. “Through the Girl Scouts Gold Award projects, we see girls tackle a broad spectrum of important issues like green energy, STEM education or ending violence against women. We hope Girl Scouts Get Out the Vote will encourage more young girls to be active members in their communities and to be active voters.”

The location of the event, in East Tennessee, also has significant meaning as McMinn County provided the deciding vote to grant women across the country the right to vote, the culmination of more than 100 years of women’s efforts.

Also, the Tennessee Woman Suffrage Memorial, located at Market Square in downtown Knoxville, honors the women who campaigned for the state to ratify the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. One of the three women, Lizzie Crozer French, was from Knoxville.

“East Tennessee and Knoxville played a critical role in the women’s suffrage movement,” said Fugate. “We value the women that fought for that cause so that today, we can host this event encouraging young girls and teens to take advantage of this right that took many years to achieve.”

The Girl Scouts Get Out of the Vote event is free and open to the public. More information on this event can be found on Facebook at https://bit.ly/2EiaiJc.

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