If you stroll through Central Park in New York City, there are many historical statues to enjoy during your visit. Among those statues are twenty three historical figures including Alexander Hamilton, Christopher Columbus, Hans Christen Anderson and William Shakespeare. What you won’t find is a statue honoring the achievements and life of a woman, discounting the Mother Goose and Alice in Wonderland monuments.
Girl Scout Troop 3484 is determined to make a change to this lack of representation. They have made it their mission to raise enough money to construct a monument honoring the suffragettes Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony before 2020, the centennial year granting women the right to vote.
The 10 girls from The Dalton School have partnered with Coline Jenkins, great- granddaughter of Elizabeth Candy Stanton and Vice President of the Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony Statue Fund, Inc. to make this vision a reality. So far they have received $6,000 from 104 donors located all around the country. The goal is to erect the statue near the West 77th Street entrance of the park.
To raise public awareness and gather funds for the monument, the troop has dedicated their Thursdays after school to march up and down Central Park West with donation jars and posters. The troop’s efforts began on September 29th and they have already gained the support of the Central Park Conservatory and the New York Historical Society.
These modern day suffragettes plan to stand strong and advocate for the much needed exemplification of women’s empowerment in the Park. Phoebe Bergan, age 10, is one of the Girls Scouts determined to make a change, speaking to the importance of female representation, “We just want to help other girls have an idol who they can look up to in Central Park.”
If you want to support Girl Scout Troop 3834 and learn more about their initiative, visit this website: http://www.centralparkwherearethewomen.org/
