Superman might bend steel in his bare hands – but this One Girl Ambassador and competitive strong woman, Scout Symons, spends her spare time pulling trucks and deadlifting cars!! She’s an extraordinary ambassador for women’s empowerment and for One Girl. She’s rallied a huge community and already raised enough to educate 15 girls!
You could sum up everything Scout does with two words – girl power. She’s a competitive weightlifter who’s teaching women that it’s not about how your body looks – but what it can do. And in her role as a boarding house manager at a girls’ school in New South Wales, she spends loads of time helping girls find and build their individual strengths.
“My whole purpose is to be an example for other women to live their best and most self-confident life.”
Scout was part of Do It In A Dress last year, and this year she decided to step up her support by becoming an ambassador. It’s a serious undertaking. All ambassadors commit to raising at least $3000 and spreading the message of the impact education makes on a girl’s life. But Scout was up for the challenge.
“I already look after Australian girls and ensure their well being, so I thought why not extend that and help other girls not as lucky.”
A big part of Scout’s motivation was her gratitude for the opportunities she’s had in her own life and her desire to pay it forward, “Through no control of my own I was lucky enough to be born in Australia with a mum who is incredibly kind and worked hard to send me to the best school money could buy. I finished high school and went straight to university without even questioning how I would get there OR afford it.”
You won’t be surprised to hear that Scout kicked off her fundraising with a weightlifting event called Deadlift In A Dress. It’s an online deadlift competition where anyone (male or female), from anywhere in the world can put on a school dress and compete.
Fellow lifters from Singapore, Malaysia and all over Australia have taken up the challenge, and their $25 entry fee has helped Scout smash her first $3,000 target in a matter of weeks. With the support of her awesome community, she’s now closing in on an incredible $5,000!
“I’ve been blown away by their support and how quick they were to get behind the cause and have fun whilst doing it!”
The second part of her campaign married the weightlifting challenge with her sports apparel brand Barbells Before Boys. Scout is using the products as prizes in the competition. And in the first weeks of her campaign, she made a special offer that all sales would go to her Do It In A Dress fundraising.
Pairing the competition and the apparel was super successful because promoting one boosted exposure for the other! Scout also made the most of her other networks:
“I’m a member of Rotary Club and booked in as a guest speaker to share One Girl’s vision and programs. I think having visuals like posters [which One Girl provides] really helped.”
When we asked Scout to share her tips with other fundraisers, she had some great advice: “Use your networks and tap into your uniqueness for fundraising. Be passionate and speak passionately. And don’t be afraid of asking! If you don’t ask then you will never know!”
We’re so inspired by Scout’s drive and commitment to empowering girls – both here in Australia and overseas. Helping people discover their strengths – either physically or through education is an incredible gift to give.
