March celebrates Women’s History Month and Girl Scout week.
Mayor Shawn Lipani and the Township Committee presented proclamations for both celebrations at a meeting on March 14.
Women’s History Month
“American women of every race, class, and ethnic background have made historic contributions to the growth and strength of our Nation in countless recorded and unrecorded ways,” the proclamation states.
“American women have played and continue to play critical economic, cultural, and social roles in every sphere of the life of the nation by constituting a significant portion of the labor force working inside and outside of the home, and by providing the majority of the volunteer labor force of the Nation.
“American women of every race, class, and ethnic background served as early leaders in the forefront of every major progressive social change movement and have served our country courageously in the military.
“American women have been leaders, not only in securing their own rights of suffrage and equal opportunity, but also in the abolitionist movement, the emancipation movement, the industrial labor movement, the civil rights movement, and many others including the peace movement, which creates a more fair and just society for all.
“Despite these contributions, the role of American women in history has been consistently overlooked and undervalued, in the literature, teaching and study of American history,” the proclamation states.
National Girl Scout Week – March 12-18
National Girl Scout Week is celebrated each year during the month of March, starting with Girl Scout Sunday, and ending with the Girl Scout Sabbath on Saturday, and always includes the Girl Scout Birthday, March 12, which commemorates the day the organization was founded in 1912 by Juliette Gordon Low in Savannah, Ga.
“Throughout its long and distinguished history, Girl scouting has inspired more than 50 million girls and women to strive for the highest ideals of courage, confidence and character,” the proclamation states.
“Girl scouting offers girls 21st century programming in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), the outdoors, entrepreneurship, and beyond, helping girls develop invaluable life skills, and encouraging them to take the lead early and often.
“The Girl Scouts Heart of New Jersey was formed in 2008 and capably delivers the optimal Girl Scout experience to over 28,000 young women and adults in Essex, Hudson, Hunterdon, Middlesex, Somerset, Union and Warren counties.
“More than 2.7 million Girl Scouts nationwide, including in excess of 100,000 in the State of New Jersey, join in celebrating and rejoicing in this great American tradition with nearly 59 million who are former Girl Scouts and living proof of the impact of this amazing movement,” the proclamation states.