‘Carrying the Torch: Girl Scout Convention on Women’s Rights’ Oct. 13-14 

Scouts of NYPENN Pathways (GSNYPENN) is proud to announce a special event, “Carrying the Torch: Girl Scout Convention on Women’s Rights,” October 13-14 in Seneca Falls, N.Y.

The first-ever collaboration between the regional Girl Scouts council, Women’s Rights National Historical Park and National Women’s Hall of Fame commemorates the 100th anniversary of women’s suffrage in New York while celebrating how girls of today carry the torch of equal rights through civic engagement.

The convention is free and open to all Girl Scouts and girls!

Activities include:

• tours of Women’s Rights National Historical Park and historical sites Elizabeth Cady Stanton House, M’Clintock House and Wesleyan Chapel (Friday-Saturday)

• visits to 1844 Seneca Knitting Mill (future home of the Center for Great Women) and National Women’s Hall of Fame with special Girl Scout alumnae designations on inductee placards—including Girl Scouts founder Juliette Gordon Low (Friday-Saturday)

• press conference celebrating convention and new Centennial of Women’s Suffrage in NY Girl Scout Patch with special re-enactment of the Declaration of Sentiments – NYS Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul, chair of the NYS Women’s Suffrage Commission, is an invited guest for this event and panel discussion following (Friday, 1 p.m., Wesleyan Chapel)

• panel discussion (the “Convention”) in which girls and women leaders discuss how the past influences the present and future—moderated by Democrat & Chronicle Senior Engagement Editor Julie Philipp with GSNYPENN CEO Julie Dale, Women’s Rights National Historical Park Superintendent Noemi “Ami” Ghazala, Co-President of the National Women’s Hall of Fame Betty Bayer, 2007 Women’s Hall of Fame Inductee Dr. Judith L. Pipher and others to be announced (Friday, 3 p.m., Seneca Falls Community Center)

• Girl Scout alumnae “Torchbearers” reception for ages 21+ (Friday, 5:30 p.m., Gould Hotel – note: this is a ticketed/paid portion of the weekend, attendees must pre-register via link below)

• suffrage and Girl Scout trivia game with Friends of Women’s Rights National Historical Park (Saturday)

Girls will collect stamps in a special event passport as they visit convention sites and receive a commemorative event patch. Seneca Falls Community Center will serve as home base for participants with a welcome/registration area, pop-up Girl Scout Boutique and Customer Service Center for member support.

“We are thrilled for this exciting collaboration. It’s our hope that Girl Scouts and all girls from across New York, Pennsylvania and beyond will join us in historic Seneca Falls for what is sure to be an inspiring, empowering and educational event. We are proud that Seneca Falls is in our council footprint and look forward to seeing as many girls as we can to commemorate the centennial of NYS women’s suffrage and celebrate the power of women and girls of the past, present and future,” said Julie Dale, GSNYPENN CEO.

“The National Park Service at Women’s Rights National Historical Park is thrilled to partner with Girls Scouts of NYPENN Pathways on this exciting project. It is our goal to remind all that girls’ and women’s stories have always been part of the American story,” says Noemi “Ami” Ghazala, Women’s Rights National Historical Park Superintendent.

“I can think of no better title for this conference—Carrying the Torch—as it points to Girl Scout history of championing self-sufficiency from the pre-19th amendment years to today. There is another reason I am so delighted: 2017 not only marks the centennial of NYS suffrage but also the 40th anniversary of the National Women’s Conference, inaugurated by a torch lighting in Seneca Falls at the National Women’s Hall of Fame. The torch was run thousands of miles by thousands of women from Seneca Falls to Texas, and we now proudly house it at the Hall. It stands, as does this conference, for generations of torchbearers,” says Betty Bayer, Co-President of the National Women’s Hall of Fame.

While the convention is free to Girl Scout members and the public, participants must sign-up at gsnypenn.org/torch to receive tickets via Eventbrite and the commemorative passport, patch and welcome kit during on-site event registration.