Olympic medalist encourages girls

An Olympic gold medal-winning gymnast visited the Inland Empire Council of the Girl Scouts on April 14 as part of HER Day.

Dominique Dawes, part of the 1996 U.S. gymnastics team, spoke to around 100 girls about building self-esteem, challenging themselves and finding their passion.

“HER” stands for “healthy, energetic and resourceful,” and the day is part of the Uniquely Me! program from Dove Self-Esteem and the Girl Scouts of the U.S.A.

The Inland Empire Council is one of 11 Girl Scout councils across the country that received a grant from the Uniquely Me! program for three years.

Jaime Fair, the Uniquely Me! program manager, said the Inland Empire Council received the grant because of its commitment to low-income and rural girls.

The council had hoped to serve around 300 girls a year with this program, but in the past year and a half that it has had the grant, it has served almost 1,000.

“The main thing we do is ask the girls what they need,” Fair said.

The girls tell the leader what kinds of activities they are interested in, such as field trips or guest speakers.

The recent HER Day event at the Girl Scout Program Center, 1404 N. Ash St., was all about making the girls feel good about themselves and showing them ways to do that on their own.

The day included activities such as rock wall climbing and classes on self-defense, nutrition, relationships and skin care as well as a fitness class taught by Dawes.

Dawes led a group of 20 to 25 girls in running, stretching and toning. For 45 minutes, Dawes encouraged the girls, who may have had to step out of the exercise and relax for a minute, but they got back into it when they could.

“We got some kids sweating, and that’s the point,” Dawes called out to the girls. “You guys are going to be sore tomorrow.”

She also taught the girls how to do a proper push-up.

“I’d rather you do five push-ups the right way. It’s better than 25 the wrong way,” she said.

Dawes, the national spokeswoman for the Uniquely Me! program, said she was proud of the girls for sticking it out.

“This was focusing on physical fitness and challenging themselves,” she said after the workout.

During lunch, Dawes addressed the girls about self-esteem.

She said that helping young girls is important to her because even when she was competing in three Olympics, she often wasn’t happy with herself.

“My passion today is speaking to young girls such as yourselves,” she said.

She wants the girls to find something in their lives about which they can feel passionate. She said that is something they need to cultivate and work toward.

“I didn’t develop a passion for gymnastics by just showing up at the gym,” she said.

The second point Dawes made was that the girls should make sure they challenge themselves.

She said that when she realized her passion for gymnastics, she set her goals high.

“I thought, ‘What is the biggest, best thing I can get to?’ “

For her, that was the Olympics.

“You need to choose to surround yourself with positive people,” Dawes told the girls.

She said negativity can hold people back and keep them from reaching their dreams. She added that if the girls can’t find someone positive in their lives, they need to be the positive person for others.

Dawes signed autographs before the girls went back to their classes Saturday.

The girls went home around 3 p.m. after having pushed themselves since 9:30 a.m.

The whole day, including lunch, cost $3. Scholarships were available.

“It’s such a good event,” said Lindy Cater, executive director of the Inland Empire Council. “They’re having fun.”

She said she hopes the event will encourage the girls to come back and use the Girl Scout Program Center, which has a kitchen, gymnasium, rock-climbing wall and computer lab.

Girls ages 5 to 17 can sign up for the Girl Scouts and use the center for $5 for 30 days after a $10 initiation fee. Scholarships also are available.