2025 GSEM Adult Recognition Handbook

Diversity Hall of Fame

Award Description: The Diversity Hall of Fame recognizes a registered member, non-member, group, agency, institution or organization that made outstanding contributions with respect to diversity, equity and inclusion in Girl Scouts.

Submission Example:

Missouri, and especially St. Louis, boasts a tremendous variety of cultures from around the world. Divya Dosido, COO of the International Society of Missouri (ISM), knows first-hand how difficult it can be to balance the feeling of belonging to a new nation with the desire to retain one’s culture. Through her position, she actively works to increase cross-cultural understanding and promote inclusiveness. This led her to initiate a partnership between ISM and Girl Scout of Eastern Missouri to help our council reach more youth by expanding council programming and communication materials to incorporate more languages and cultures. Divya became an assistant leader for her child’s elementary school troop three years ago, and noticed how difficult was for some international students in the troop to receive a rich Girl Scout experience when their, or their caregivers’, English skills created communication challenges. She also felt that the troop could do more to promote cultural understanding and help everyone feel seen and included. She also noticed that international students tended to shy away from Girl Scouts at recruitment events. Divya personally participated the ISM/GSEM working group that determined which languages and cultures would be the focus of translation efforts for recruitment materials and council sourced program materials. She led the efforts to teach volunteer and staff recruiters how to use a translation app to help communicate with international families at schools and other Girl Scout recruitment events. Because of Divya’s motivation and love of Girl Scouts, GSEM was able to create culturally sensitive printed materials in four languages relevant to our council, and increased the recruitment of both youth and adults with international backgrounds by 18 percent. The International Society of Missouri and Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri have created a beneficial partnership that fosters cross-cultural understanding and highlights the diverse communities across our council, thanks to the efforts of Divya Dosido.

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