We’ve all heard of the American Girl doll. Whether these dolls were a part of our own childhood or the realistic plaything of choice for our children, there’s no doubt these were and are an iconic piece of woman empowerment in history. The American Girl franchise has made it their responsibility to break down barriers of gender, race, class, ability, and social standards and have successfully been instilling in us that women of any kind CAN, SHOULD, AND WILL be successful movers and shakers. From the earliest dolls and books that accompany them, American Girl has been a source of strength and optimism and proves genuine compassion and character reign supreme. Teaching valuable life lessons through inspirational books, American Girl has successfully reinforced equality and dedication through the lives of fictional characters.
You might be thinking, “Why on earth am I reading an article about American Girl and what does this have to do with my Shreveport community?” to which I would say, it has to do with our community more than we sometimes think. While my link to American Girl might be a bit moot, my link to the empowerment of the young generation of our community is not.
In fact, a local retail store, The Moppet Shoppe, is taking initiative and giving young girls the
opportunity to learn and grow this summer in a way that will promote creativity, hard work, and encourage young girls that they, too, can run their own retail store. Learning through the experience offered in The Moppet Shoppe’s Work-Shoppe, girls ages 6 – 12 are able to attend a five-day camp in which they learn about retail, what it takes to run a store, and develop their very own products through arts and crafts – and no doubt have fun doing it. This five-day camp offers girls the real-life experience to emulate those women in our community who have paved the way before them who operate their own store as creative, business-savvy, and awesome women. They sell their very own products, learning to scan tags and ring up customers at the register. The best part? Their hard-earned profits are donated to the charity of their choice, instilling in them that giving back to their community makes a difference.
So whether or not you had an American Girl doll growing up, you probably have heard of The Moppet Shoppe or maybe you even know the owners. So next time you see them, give them a high five because these women are making an impact in our community both by empowering young girls and giving back to their local community. And all it takes is giving young girls the opportunity to learn, build confidence, and have fun. No dolls
required.
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