I remember being a wee tot at the Carver Shores’ Boys and Girls Club and they’d have Girl Scout meetings there. I went to a couple and they were alway cool. Fast forward decades later and they’re still out here empowering and inspiring the babies with programs like The Career Café. Founder Anne Bauer created it when she realized she and her friends were unequipped for the workforce. Yes, Girl Scouts is known for the annual cookie sales and the little girls in cute uniforms, but they’re all about teaching our young girls how to be independent and self sufficient.

Anne and Clara Moll, Girl Scouts’ VP of Membership Innovation, told me all about The Career Café and I wish something like that was around when I was in high school. Here’s a bit of what they said:

“Girl Scouts may cure our cookie cravings but they’re finding new ways to empower young women with initiatives like the Career Cafe that teach them how to be independent and self-sufficient. Career Cafe is an annual event where attendees walk away with helpful job-hunting skills including writing a resume and how to dress properly for an interview. 

“I wanted to model it after a job fair but it’s difficult when the girls had varying levels of experience. I had to transform it to equip them with the skills so they could get those opportunities,” explains Career Cafe founder Anne Bauer.

Bauer created Career Cafe in 2015 as a high school student. Bauer, a Girl Scouts Lifetime member, has been involved with the Girl Scouts from the time she was in kindergarten until graduating high school. In 2018, she was the recipient of a $50,000 scholarship from the Tampa Bay Lightning Community Heroes of Tomorrow. She used the funds to help pay for her education and sustain the event.

“I was inspired by going to the Women’s Conference of Florida and introduce Anna Maria Chávez, who was CEO at the time, and my eyes were open to things affecting women in the workforce from managing money to work/life balance,” says Bauer.”

The typically annual event is biannual this year in Ocala and Clearwater. Donations start at $5 and are refunded in the form of a gift card . Register for either Café here. Read more about The Career Cafe by going here.