girl scout junior agent of change companion guide

Making the World a Better Place

of Change AGENT

Take Action with My New Red Shoes!

Companion Guide

C4C Club

My New Red Shoes

Are you an aspiring agent of change? This guide will help you tap into your power to help girls have the clothing and shoes they need to attend school with moxie! Take Action with My New Red Shoes and be-

come part of our C4C Club — a team that works the Power of Community for good!


Don’t Forget... ... to check out My New Red Shoes’ guide for Girl Scout Juniors at www.mynewredshoes.org so you know what we do and why. While you’re there,

learn how Juniors can Discover, Connect and Take Action with My New Red Shoes!

How to use this guide

Icebreakers Use these clothing and shoe-themed icebreakers to get to know the girls on your Journey!

Confidence Candy This game requires candy that comes in five or six colors (like gummy bears, gumdrops M&M’s or Skittles). Each Junior should choose anywhere from one to five pieces of candy of any color (don’t eat them yet!). The troop leader will then tell the girls what each candy color represents:

Color #1 – Something that you wear that makes you feel confident Color #2 – Something that you wear that makes you feel self-conscious Color #3 – A memory of one of your first days of school Color #4 — A time in your life that clothing or shoes really made a difference Color #5 – Wildcard (tell us anything about yourself that relates to clothing and/

or shoes!) Next, each girl will introduce herself in turn, saying one fact for each of the colored candies she chose.

If the Shoe Fits... Ask your troop leader to write each half of the shoe-related sayings below on sheets of paper then attach one paper to each girl’s back without letting her see what is written. Once all of the papers are attached, the girls will ask each other questions to figure out who completes their saying. Once the pairs find one another, they should discuss one fashion item they both own and another that makes them unique. Each pair should then share their findings with the full group.

If the shoe fits… ...wear it Kick up… ...your heels These boots… ...were made for walking Goody… ...two shoes Start off… ...on the right foot Waiting for… ...the other shoe to drop Pull yourself up… ...by your bootstraps Take a walk… ...in someone else’s shoes



Clothing Relay Enjoy this game when you need to get off your journey “highway” to catch some fresh air or get your blood flowing.

You Will Need: A pair of little-kid shoes An adult-sized jacket or shirt Adult-sized pants A jacket that would just about fit all of

the girls in your troop A skirt that is made for a fourth- or fifth

-grade girl Your own shoes!

Once she’s dressed, the girl will run to a designated spot and back, remove the clothes, and place them in the pile for the next girl to use. Once the relay is complete, switch! Give the ill-fitting clothes and shoes to the team that did not have them the first time. Ask the girls on the other team to retrieve their

shoes and place them nearby. Repeat the race.:

Let’s Play! Split into two teams. Give the first team the ill-fitting clothing and shoes and the second team the appropriately-sized clothing and the shoes each girl wore to the meeting. Each team should stand in a line behind their pile of clothing and shoes. When the relay race begins, the first girl in each line will put on a pair of shoes as well as a top and bottom from the pile.

Did you have fun during the relay? How would it feel to wear clothing and shoes that were either too big or too small all the time? Do you think it would affect how you acted and performed at school? What do you think other kids would say?

Think About It!


The Power of One!

On her fifth birthday, Lizzie* decided to ask her party guests not to bring presents. Instead, she requested that they bring brand new shoes for children in need. Lizzie collected enough shoes that day to help My New Red Shoes provide 15 homeless children with brand new footwear for school. Now that’s the power of generosity!

THAt is power! When you’re learning about power in Session 1, consider the following true stories below of girls who flexed their power with My New Red Shoes.

This troop worked as a team to sew dozens of back-to-school gift bags for My New Red Shoes. Handmade and signed by the girls with a label wishing the children a happy first day of school, these gift bags and the Girl Scouts who made them helped the homeless and low-income children who received the bags to feel special and cared for on their first day of school.

The Power of Team!

These four teens tapped into the Power of Community by planning a 5K walk/run event for families called “Step by Step” to benefit the children served by My New Red Shoes. They planned the route, spread the word, and made the event a huge success, drawing 40 runners who supported 144 homeless children in Redwood City and Menlo Park, and Santa Clara California.

The Power of Community!

*Name changed for privacy. Making the World a Better Place


Trading cards Check out My New Red Shoes’ Dream Team and think of other women you know who have helped girls look and feel good so they can put their best foot forward at school!


Louisa May Alcott, writer

Leader in the field:

This 19th century writer was famous for

her novel Little Women but she was also

a forward thinker, supporting the rights

of women and African Americans when

few others did.

Clothing for Confidence Leader:

Her experience growing up poor in-

spired Alcott to enlighten her readers

about the shame girls feel when they’re

teased or left out due to their clothing

and shoes. Polly, the 14-year-old hero-

ine of her novel An Old-Fashioned Girl,

visits her wealthy city friend and is em-

barrassed by her simple, country cloth-

ing. But Polly’ is friendly, caring and cou-

rageous (just like a Girl Scout!) and her

moxie eventually wins the hearts of her

new city friends in the end.

Leader in the field: Her business smarts and popular talk

show made Winfrey one of the most

accomplished and famous women in the

world. Clothing for Confidence Leader:

Winfrey rose out of the poverty of her

rural Mississippi childhood by studying

and working hard. She believes that

education is the key to empowering girls

and is part of My New Red Shoes’

Dream Team for the work she has done

around the world for children in need,

including providing school shoes and

uniforms to thousands of children in

South Africa so they could arrive at

school feeling proud and ready to learn. Oprah Winfrey, businesswoman

“Edvcatxon xs twe

key to unlocking

the world, a

passport to

freedom.”

-Oprah Winfrey


She often spent the summer worrying

about whether she was going to have

something nice to wear to school come

September. Her family didn’t have

much money, so she had to wear

whichever shoes were least expensive

in the store, despite whether she liked

them or not. She never imagined that

her difficult experience would lead to

something good. Decades later, her

daughter founded My New Red Shoes

in her honor so that other children

would not have to worry about arriving

at school on their first day wearing

clothing or shoes that made them feel

ashamed. She inspired My New Red

Shoes’ and is one of its most dedicated

supporters.


This school teacher was tired of seeing

the kids in her second-grade classroom

come to school wearing shoes with

holes in them, particularly as the cold,

rainy season approached in her Van-

couver, Canada town. So, she took mat-

ters into her own hands and wrote a

letter asking others in her community to

help provide the children with what

they needed to be comfortable and suc-

cessful in school. Gelson’s community

answered her plea with an incredible

outpouring of support, donating thou-

sands of dollars as well as bags of socks,

shoes and other necessities for the chil-

dren in her class. Gelson was coura-

geous and strong and made the world a

better place as a result! Carrie Gelson,

teacher

Ph

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Tyee

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Wow!

Patty Lee Brown, inspiration

“Eyery day twat I teacw, I belxeye eyen more stronuly twat edvcatxon xs eyery

cwxld’s txcket to twe fvtvre...I was wopxnu twat xssves twat affect some of my cwxl-

dren...would be talked about and worried about enough to make people start

twxnkxnu abovt wwat mvst be done.”

— Carrie Gelson

Why my new Red Shoes? Why should you Take Action with My New Red Shoes? Because we combine up-front and behind-the-scenes action to make immediate and long-term change in the community.

How it affects kids: Children who don’t have appropriate school clothing and shoes: Often feel physically uncomfortable. If their shoes don’t fit or are falling apart, their feet can

hurt, making it hard for them to play on the playground or do sports. If their only shirt is short-sleeved, they may be cold. If it’s long-sleeved, they may be too hot.

They’re embarrassed. Kids who don’t like the way they’re dressed have a hard time concen-trating in class and avoid other children on the playground. They’re often teased or bullied because of what they wear.

The problem: For some children, succeeding in school can be extra challenging. Consider the following: Families who struggle to pay the rent or have enough money to buy food often can’t afford

clothes and shoes for their kids. As a result, children from homeless and low-income fami-lies often skip school or go to school day after day wearing ill-fitting, unseasonable hand-me-down clothing, sometimes the same outfit over and over again. One study showed that of the homeless children who did not attend school in Santa Clara County, California, 21% did not do so because they did not have any or the right school clothing.

Homeless children are nine times more likely to repeat a grade, four times more likely to drop out of school, and three times more likely to be placed in special education programs than their housed peers.

How My New Red Shoes Helps: We give homeless and low-income kids brand new shoes, a $50 clothing gift card, a little “something special” (like an accessory or school supply)

and a handmade card all in a gift bag sewn by a volunteer.



The gift of Confidence New school clothing and shoes make all the difference! My New Red Shoes receives thousands of stories and thank you letters every year from the children we serve. Here are just a few. For more stories and letters from the children, check out My New Red Shoes’ Guide for Juniors at www.mynewredshoes.org.

“I really appreciate your kind and wonderful heart. It means a lot to me. Now I can rock my shoes and rock my style!" — Kimberly

“Thank you for the shoes. I really appreciate what you are doing for this community. It is people like you guys that make a difference to our world. The shoes mean so much to me. Thank you again.” – Cindy, 14 years-old

“I know you don’t know me and that just makes this even better to know that there are people out there who care….Thank you deeply. Something as small as this to

most people means a lot to us.”


How can juniors help? Below are just a few ideas about how you can complete your Agent of Change Take Action project with My New Red Shoes. Let’s see how far you can extend your circle of power!

Organize a Shoe Drive! Tap into the Power

of Community! Let others know why it’s impor-tant for all children to have comfortable, appro-priate shoes for school then tap into your web of community to collect shoes for children in need. Check out the attached shoe donation guidelines as well as www.mynewredshoes.org for facts and pictures to use on your posters and publicity materials.

Decorate First Day Cards

and Sew Back-to-School Gift Bags Use the Power of One to create your own inspirational artwork and mes-sages wishing children in need a happy first day of school. Then sew special gift bags in ten easy steps. You have the power to create a heartfelt gift with the potential of creating a spiral effect in the life of a child. For first day card templates and sewing instructions, please visit us on the web at www.mynewredshoes.org.

Art for Change We love your art, sto-

ries, and videos! Create a masterpiece that communicates the importance of the work we do and we will display it in our office and warehouse space to in-spire others!

Inspire Younger Girl Scouts by

teaching them about our mission then empower them to Take Action through the Power of Team! Check out the fun games and activities for younger girls at www.mynewredshoes.org.

To get started on these or other pro-

ject ideas, please contact My New Red Shoes’ Manager of Community Outreach and Education at(650) 375-2648 or by emailing [email protected].


Congratulations! You now belong to the C4C Club!

What does C4C mean? C4C stands for “Clothing For Confidence” and being part of

the C4C Club means that you’ve worked through the Power of One, Power of Team, and Power of Community to help home-

We want to hear from you!

Send your pictures and stories of your

Agent of Change journey with My New

Red Shoes and we’ll post them to our

super duper C4C Club page!

less and low-income children arrive at school dressed for suc-cess and ready to learn! You are now part of an exclusive group of kids who help My New Red Shoes make the world a better place.

Make it Official! Display your own C4C Club badge, button or keychain with pride! Just make a color copy of this page, cut out the C4C Club button above, and attach to cardboard or laminate with clear packing tape. Punch a hole, stick to a safety pin or at-tach a key chain and you’re done! When others ask what C4C means, tell them all about your work with My New Red Shoes.

Your photo

here!


C4C Club

My New Red Shoes

www.mynewredshoes.org 111 Anza Blvd. Suite 110

Burlingame, CA 94010 [email protected]

(650) 375-2648


For More Information

Contact My New Red Shoes’ Manager of Community Outreach

and Education at [email protected]

or (650) 375-2648

tel:%28650%29%20375-2648

girl scout junior agent of change companion guide

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