Girls Scouts River Valleys - Power Girls Electrical Day

The Power Girls program is an initiative that got started when Sara Shaw Meyer, the director of development at Girls Scouts River Valley, approached NECA following the advice of John Schroepfer, a retired electrician and former electrical contractor from Saint Paul.

John and Sara met through Linda Schroepfer, John’s wife, former girl scout and retired board member of Girls Scouts River Valley. When the Schroepfers heard Sara’s initiative to run a program to introduce the girls to the different trades, they immediately suggested partnering up with NECA to get the electrical community involved.

John remembered that when he was a contractor there were never enough women to fill the needs for women participation, and he firmly believed the program would be a great way of letting the girls know there are other opportunities out there for them. They could start off in the camp, and end up as project managers. Linda added that recruitment was always an issue for the trade, and thus this initiative was a great contribution to address that situation. When Sara presented the idea to NECA a couple of years ago, it was met with enthusiasm and that is how the program got started.

This video shows some of the highlights from Wakamaga camp a couple of weeks ago. The camp is a week long event where girls immerse themselves in the trades to get experience. Electrical has been the first day of the camp each year. The Girls Scouts learn things such as: how to make a light socket, how to turn on a light switch, or even work on a circuit. In addition to the camp, there are year around activation days for the girls.

As Marisa Williams, CEO of Girls Scout River Valley, pointed out the Power Girls initiative occurs thanks to all Power Partners amazing support. In particular, the camp is an opportunity to expose young girls to different career paths, so they can continue to grow, and become the leaders and change makers we need.