The Girl Scout troops of West Central Florida officially embarked on a new year of programming this weekend, and they once again found the perfect launching pad for takeoff: One Buccaneer Place.
The Girl Scouts and Tampa Bay Buccaneers joined forces again to invite more than 4,000 Girl Scouts, family members and troop leaders to their state-of-the-art facility on Saturday to conduct their annual Family Fest. In addition to learning about the events and activities they would be taking part in over the coming year, the Scouts also were treated to interactive exhibits set up on the One Buc Place practice field by such community partners as Ruth Eckerd Hall, the Museum of Science and Industry and the Glazer Children's Museum. These exhibits gave the Scouts some ideas on pathways to earn badges throughout the year.
The Buccaneers' influence added another level of significance to the event, as the team joined the Girl Scouts organization in promoting healthy and active lifestyles.
"The Buccaneers know that we can encourage girls of our community to live healthy and active lifestyles as well as create an awareness of all the careers available in professional sports," said Brian Ford, the Buccaneers' chief operating officer.
One Buccaneer Place proved to be the perfect venue for these efforts, as some of the fields that usually serve Buccaneer players were transformed into a the official Kids Zone for the thousands of Girl Scouts on hand. The girls ran through a variety of football drills, interacted with inflatable football challenges and toured the Glazer Family Foundation's Vision Mobile with the help of team volunteers; having a grand time while also being taught the value of daily exercise.
The Buccaneers hosted a group of Girl Scouts for a Family Fun Day on September 20, 2014.
Hundreds of the visiting Girl Scouts also took pre-arranged tours inside One Buccaneer Place, getting a close-up look at the types of careers a professional sports team can offer.
The engaged and excited reactions from the visiting girls was what the Buccaneers had hoped to find at One Buccaneer Place when they made their home available once again for the organization's annual kickoff event.
"We are proud to host thousands of Girl Scouts from our area at One Buccaneer Place," said Ford. "We recognize that, as a professional sports team, we have many resources that we can bring to the Girl Scouts to help them with their efforts to expand the opportunities available to the girls of our community."
Saturday's Family Fest at One Buccaneer Place was the continuation of a fruitful partnership the Buccaneers have formed with the area's Girl Scouts. All Girl Scouts who are in attendance at the Buccaneers' November 30 home contest against Cincinnati, which is this year's Play 60-themed game, will receive a custom Buccaneers/Girl Scouts patch honoring the partnership.
"We were thrilled to have the Girl Scouts in our home on Saturday," said Ford. "We look forward to continually developing this partnership so that the girls in our community have every opportunity to grow as future leaders and develop healthy lifestyles."
Visit www.buccaneers.com/girlscouts for more information.
