It’s no secret here at FletcherPR we think girls rock! This is why we’re so excited to be working with Girl Scouts of America and the Roland Corporation U.S. on a fabulous new initiative, Girl Scouts Rock! Powered by Roland. The project, which recently kicked off in Los Angeles, involves a series of interactive workshops that puts musical instruments into the hands of Girl Scouts ages 8-14 and offer them new opportunities to learn about music, while making some of their own at the same time.
The star-studded premiere workshop included none other than girl rocker Charlotte Caffey, of the groundbreaking all-female rock band, the Go-Go’s. As a female singer/songwriter and mother of a 16-year-old daughter, Caffey was happy to get involved with the project to help provide young girls a greater access to music and music education. Girls and moms alike jammed out to the Rockin’ Roland Girls Band rendition of We Got The Beat while Caffey cheered them on. Also in attendance was Disney darling Shelby Spalione, previous lead singer of the all-girl teen rock band KSM and former Girl Scout. Spalione, who says she was inspired by the Go-Go’s, performed for the workshop participants and met many of them as well.
The high-energy project goes on the road this month, crossing the country for workshops to be held in Chicago, New York and Miami. In a recent Billboard Magazine article, Roland U.S. president Chris Bristol states “I want to give young girls a positive, hands-on experience playing musical instruments and making their own music.” The goal of the initiative is to empower young girls through music, while offering them the chance to learn something too.
With the budget cuts schools are facing these days, music programs get pushed further and further to the bottom of the priority list. Having majored in music and worked in the area of performing arts, I know the extent to which music can have a positive impact on peoples’ lives. Seeing the smiles on the Girl Scouts’ faces as they were jumping up and down, getting excited about music brought tears to my eyes. We believe this initiative will have life-long benefits for the Girl Scouts involved and we are so thrilled to be part of it!