Make It Happen

A local Girl Scout camp is highlighted in a new program on mentoring
By Jennifer Fletcher

Girl Scout Lynne Erickson For most people, summer camp evokes fond memories of hiking, roasting marshmallows and sleeping in tents. For a group of local teenagers, their summer camp experience has meant much more.

Last summer, 15 bright, ambitious teenagers from the Girl Scouts of Southeastern Pennsylvania paired up with female executives from a wide range of professions, including law, medicine, media and professional services, at Camp VIP, a three-day program designed to help young women explore their dreams and set future goals.

The teens' experience with their mentors at Camp VIP is one of three inspiring vignettes on the role of mentors in helping people succeed featured in the program Make it Happen: Mentors, Dreams, Success airing Sunday, September 8 at 1:30 p.m. on WHYY TV12.

"Camp VIP is a wonderful opportunity for young women to envision the vast possibilities for their futures and view themselves as leaders," says Sharon A. Smith, executive director and CEO of the Girl Scouts of Southeastern Pennsylvania.

This past May, some of the girls who attended the camp reunited with their mentors to preview the program at a special reception in WHYY's Independence Foundation Civic Space. The girls discussed the impact of the camp on their lives and chatted with each other and their mentors about their future plans.

Most admitted that they didn't realize the opportunities available to them or how to succeed both personally and professionally until they went to Camp VIP. The girls also expressed the desire to keep in touch with their mentors. "Before Camp, I was afraid to tell others about my dreams, but now I'm not," says Girl Scout Lynne Erickson.

Make it Happen: Mentors, Dreams, Success airs Sunday, September 8 at 1:30 p.m. on WHYY TV12.