GALLOWAY, Ohio — As a Girl Scout for the past four years, sixth grader Jasmine Davis has seen herself flourish.

What You Need To Know

  • Girl Scouts of Ohio's Heartland partnered with the University of Cincinnati Evaluation Services to conduct research on key issues affecting Ohio girls

  • Research found that in 2021, 56% of high school girls felt hopeless, 51% of middle school girls reported being bullied online and 18% of high school girls reported experiencing sexual dating violence

  • President and CEO of Girl Scouts of Ohio's Heartland, Tammy Wharton, believes one of the best ways to solve these problems is by celebrating diversity 

“Before Girl Scouts, I was confident, but I didn’t really fully like, know who I was. Girl Scouts really helped me like bloom, like a flower,” said Davis. 

Davis said her involvement with the Girl Scouts has boosted her confidence.

“They’ve been so supportive and here with me,” said Davis. 

While Davis isn’t alone, new research shows there’s more work to be done.

“Girls are struggling. They’re struggling because of bullying. They’re struggling academically. They’re struggling physically, socially, emotionally. There’s just so many ways girls are struggling,” said Tammy Wharton, the president and CEO of Girl Scouts of Ohio’s Heartland.

Tammy Wharton is the president and CEO of the Girl Scouts of Ohio’s Heartland, which covers much of the central and southern parts of the state. On Tuesday, it released new data regarding the state of girls in Ohio.

“We’re trying to share with the individuals, with the community, with the legislators that we need to invest in girls,” said Wharton. 

The research shows that in 2021, 56% of high school girls felt hopeless, 51% of middle school girls reported being bullied online and 18% of high school girls reported experiencing sexual dating violence.

“We’ve been looking about how girls have been faring nationally and locally, to some extent, through our national office. But we really wanted to get down into the details of Ohio,” said Wharton. 

Wharton believes one way to help fix the problem is to promote diversity.   

“We know a diverse environment is a better environment. We get better answers, we get better solutions. So having diversity and having girls of all ethnic backgrounds represented in Girl Scouts is critically important,” said Wharton. 

It’s girls like Sara Kallenberg who give Wharton hope. Kallenberg is a Girl Scouts Ambassador who completed an award-winning project making Alley Park in Lancaster more accessible for visitors with disabilities. 

“We need to make sure that nature is accessible to everyone. And so that’s really what inspired me to do this project. And, you know, the sensory aspect of it, I figured if I’m going to make it accessible, I might as well make it enjoyable and educational,” said Kallenberg.