Thanks to a partnership between Columbia Gas of Ohio and the NiSource Charitable Foundation and the Columbus Blue Jackets, Girl Scouts of Ohio’s Heartland are taking on a new challenge!
At the end of June, COH and Blue Jackets representatives joined the Girl Scouts at Camp Ken-Jockety to cut the ribbon for their new Low Ropes Course. The course is designed to help girls build confidence, leadership and teamwork skills while getting active and having a blast in the great outdoors.
“With the Girl Scouts, we love to create opportunities for girls to grow and explore, particularly in the area of STEM, which is really the focus here on the campus of Camp Ken-Jockety,” said NiSource VP of Operational Excellence and Girl Scouts of Ohio’s Heartland Board Member Lauren Grether. “This Low Ropes Course really helps to kind of facilitate experiences that the girls can have to grow in their resiliency and in their confidence, and we are thrilled to be a part of it.”
The NiSource Charitable Foundation sponsorship of the Low Ropes Course ties to a company priority of workforce development. During their time exploring and playing on the Low Ropes Course, the Girl Scouts will learn to overcome fear and solve problems while having fun and learning to work with their peers. One day in the future, a Girl Scout who learned critical skills on the Low Ropes Course may be employed at Columbia Gas, utilizing the lessons learned from the course to tackle challenges in the natural gas industry.
In addition to workforce development, Columbia Gas is also committed to bringing STEAM learning and development to students across Ohio, as well as supporting the communities where our team members work and live. Whether sharing natural gas safety information with students at safety towns, engaging with Ohio’s youngest residents at touch-a-truck events, or providing sponsorships like the Girl Scouts’ Low Ropes Course, Columbia cares about uplifting kids who will one day be our customers, partners and potential coworkers.
The opportunity to sponsor the Low Ropes Course with the Columbus Blue Jackets Foundation was an excellent way for Columbia to advance its vision of being a trusted and innovative energy partner.
“Our partnership with the Columbus Blue Jackets has been really integral, certainly in this project, but in many spaces where we’ve come together to support the community as a whole,” said Grether. “So, that important partnership between Columbia Gas of Ohio and the Columbus Blue Jackets is very special to us.”
Columbia and our team members are particularly passionate about working with the Girl Scouts. Each year, Columbia hosts the Introduce a Girl to STEAM event, which brings the Girl Scouts of Ohio’s Heartland into our Arena District office for a full day of hands-on STEAM learning and fun. The event also gives Girl Scouts the chance to learn what a career in the natural gas industry might look like, and educates the girls on the wealth of career opportunities open to them both at Columbia Gas and in the utilities industry. Introduce a Girl to STEAM is a NiSource-wide initiative, engaging Girl Scouts across the six-state footprint. The Low Ropes Course sponsorship is another fantastic opportunity to support the communities that Columbia serves.
Columbia is thrilled to see how the Low Ropes Course at Camp Ken-Jockety inspires confidence, leadership skills and wonder in the Girl Scouts who take it on.
