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girl scout council to host nonpartisan voter education event for teenS
As many as 1,000 teens from throughout the state are expected at Rally the VOTE – Voices of Teens Emerging, a civic engagement rally sponsored by Girl Scouts – North Carolina Coastal Pines on September 20 in Raleigh. The nonpartisan event will feature special sessions on voter registration and voter turn-out, and North Carolina gubernatorial candidates Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory and Lieutenant Governor Beverly Perdue have been invited to address the high school teens. Even teens who can not yet vote will learn how they can get involved in the political process and encourage others to vote through the ‘I Promised a Teen I’d Vote’ voter turn-out drive.
High school teens who are part of youth organizations such as: YMCAs, YWCAs, 4-Hs, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, Boys and Girls Clubs, El Pueblo youth, social studies classes, etc., are invited to attend Rally the VOTE in groups with an adult chaperone.
Jessica Jacobs, former Miss North Carolina and founder of the “Read to Me” literacy program, will serve as Mistress of Ceremonies for the four-hour event. Damon Circosta, policy director for the NC Center for Voter Education, and Jenn Frye, with Democracy NC, will help teach the teens about voter registration and turn-out. The Raleigh-based rock band, Old Avenue, will perform and other entertainment is planned as well.
Event sponsors to date include Embarq, IBM, Progress Energy, The Cole Foundation, First Citizens Bank, Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation, Omega Property Group, Capstrat, Coastal Federal Credit Union, Rotary Club of Raleigh, Smith Anderson, the Broyhill Family Foundation, and North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company.
Rally the VOTE – Voices Of Teens Emerging will take place on Saturday, September 20, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at Meymandi Hall in downtown Raleigh. The groups of high school teens must register prior to the event at www.voicesofteensemerging.com. Additional information about the event can be found on this webpage or by phone at 919-782-3031.
Jacobs, a former Girl Scout Daisy and Brownie, grew up in High Point, completed her undergraduate degree at UNC-Chapel Hill’s School of Journalism and is currently a graduate student of organizational communication at N.C. State University where she is a full-time tuition scholar and public speaking instructor.
The NC Center for Voter Education is a Raleigh-based nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to improving elections in North Carolina. Democracy NC is a nonpartisan organization committed to expanding voter participation by developing local and statewide networks of informed citizens to defend pro-democracy policies. Democracy NC’s ultimate goal is a more vital democracy that fulfills the promise of “one person, one vote.”
Founded in 1912, Girl Scouts of the USA is the preeminent leadership development organization for girls with 3.6 million girl and adult members worldwide. Girl Scouting is the leading authority on girls’ healthy development, and builds girls of courage, confidence and character, who make the world a better place. The organization strives to serve girls from every corner of the United States and its territories. Girls Scouts of the USA also serves American girls and their classmates attending American or international schools overseas in 90 countries. For more information on how to join, volunteer, reconnect or donate to Girl Scouts, call (800) GSUSA 4 U [(800) 478-7248] or visit www.girlscouts.org.
Girl Scouts – North Carolina Coastal Pines serves more than 32,000 girls in 41 central and eastern North Carolina counties. (Counties are: Beaufort, Bladen, Brunswick, Carteret, Chatham, Columbus, Craven, Cumberland, Duplin, Durham, Edgecombe, Franklin, Granville, Greene, Halifax, Harnett, Hoke, Johnston, Jones, Lee, Lenoir, Martin, Moore, Nash, New Hanover, Northampton, Onslow, Orange, Pamlico, Pender, Person, Pitt, Richmond, Robeson, Sampson, Scotland, Vance, Wake, Warren, Wayne, and Wilson.) The council’s administrative headquarters are located in Raleigh. Additionally, program and service centers are located in Fayetteville and Goldsboro.
 
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