[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 57 (Tuesday, April 2, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E390]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       HONORING ALICE PAUL TAPPER

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON

                      of the district of columbia

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, April 2, 2019

  Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, I rise today to ask the House of 
Representatives to join me in recognizing Alice Paul Tapper, a District 
of Columbia native, for her activism creating a nationwide Raise Your 
Hand movement as a Girl Scout Cadette in Girl Scouts Nation's Capital.
  Alice Paul Tapper was born in Washington, D.C. to humanitarian 
Jennifer Tapper and journalist Jake Tapper. She is a sixth grade 
student at Maret School. Raise Your Hand is the brainchild of Alice, 
who witnessed firsthand that girls were shying away from raising their 
hand in class or volunteering at school activities. She brought the 
issue to the attention of her Girl Scout troop, and they agreed that 
Girl Scouts should have a patch for that. Alice realized this type of 
empowerment could only take place in a girl-led organization.
  Alice's observations are also grounded in research. Girls' self-
confidence drops 3.4 times below boy's, especially between the ages of 
eight and 12. Working with Girl Scouts Nation's Capital, the Raise Your 
Hand patch, was launched. Girls earn the patch after pledging to raise 
their hands more in class and recruiting other girls to do the same. 
The patch was put into circulation nationwide in October 2017.
  Today, over 12,000 girls and women from around the globe have taken 
the pledge and earned the patch. Alice has received national attention 
for the Raise Your Hand movement, including appearing on local news and 
being one of the youngest persons to get an op-ed published in the New 
York Times.
  Alice will bring her message to young readers in a children's book, 
Raise Your Hand, published by Penguin Young. The book chronicles 
Alice's advocacy initiative for girls and will be released March 26, 
2019, after she appears on the Ellen Show on March 22nd. Alice has 
donated her advance of $25,000, as well as a matching donation from 
Oprah Winfrey, to Girl Scouts Nation's Capital, so that more girls can 
grow in confidence.
  Madam Speaker, I ask the House of Representatives to join me in 
recognizing Alice Paul Tapper for her initiative to elevate girls' 
self-esteem and to encourage them to raise their hands in the District 
of Columbia and around the world.

                          ____________________