Quincy and I have been watching all of the clues for the 2020 American Girl of the Year for the past few days, and we have been so excited. Joss Kendrick has surfed into our hearts!
Who is the 2020 American Girl of the Year?
Meet the 2020 Girl of the Year™, Joss Kendrick.™! Joss — a fierce athlete born with hearing loss and a passion for surfing and competitive cheer!
Joss is joining American Girl’s lineup of inspirational characters who impart meaningful life lessons to help girls learn and grow with confidence, and we can’t wait to meet her! We love that she is going to continue girls to dream and overcome ANYTHING!
Who is Joss Kendrick?
Whether she’s on her surfboard or in the gym, Joss shows girls the importance of trying new things, pushing past stereotypes, and being a good team player. Joss grows up in Huntington Beach, California, also known as “Surf City U.S.A.” When the surf’s up, Joss loves to catch the waves any chance she can get. When she accepts her brother’s dare to try out for the competitive cheer team, Joss figures it’ll be easy. But instead of pom-poms and chants, Joss is surprised to see daring pyramids, flips, and jumps, and realizes the first rule of surfing—give respect to get respect—applies in the gym as well. By going all-in with cheer, Joss reaches new heights and discovers a whole new side of herself.
Joss is a surfer!
To celebrate the new Girl of the Year, American Girl is teaming up with 17-year-old surfing prodigy Caroline Marks, as she prepares to make history next summer as a member of the first-ever U.S. Women’s Olympic surfing team. “I’m so excited to be a part of the Joss launch and share her message that passion and hard work can really take a girl places—even to the Olympics,” said Marks.
Joss’ Creative Team
To create Joss, American Girl worked closely with a team of experts specializing in surfing, competitive cheerleading, and hearing loss, including:
• Crystal DaSilva—Women’s Deaf Shortboard champion and winner of national and world titles
• Sara Jo Moen & Julie Peterson—Owners of Fury Athletics in Madison, WI, a training gym for competitive cheer teams
• Dr. Sharon Pajka, Ph.D.—Professor of English at Gallaudet University and a specialist in portrayals of deaf characters in adolescent literature
• Jennifer Richardson, Au.D.—Educational audiologist and founder of Hearing Milestones Foundation
• Bianca Valenti—Professional big wave surfer and co-founder of the Committee for Equity in Women’s Surfing
My favorite Joss Kendrick Accessory
I have to admit, I squeed when I saw Joss’s Volkswagen Surf Bus! Edison LOVES VW and I know that he and his sister Quincy are going to have the best time playing with their American Girl Doll friends and this new bus!
Coming this spring, American Girl, in partnership with Volkswagen Accessories, will debut Joss’s Volkswagen Surf Bus, which comes fully stocked with more than 50 components, including a storage bench that folds into a bed, a pop-up stove, and a fold-out table. The surf bus also features working headlights, turn signals, windshield wipers, and a radio, plus sounds for the horn and ignition.
2020 Girl of the Year Events
American Girl fans can participate in the following Joss activities and events starting January 1:
- Visitors to American Girl retail stores on Jan. 1 will receive an exclusive Joss giveaway, plus enjoy a Joss photo op, craft, sweet treat, and a performance by a local cheer team, while being among the first to see and shop the Joss products.
- Girls can tune into a weekly online series, “Meet Joss,” plus view Joss-inspired music videos, DIY crafts, doll hair features, and other videos throughout the year on the brand’s popular YouTube Kids Channel
- A dedicated Joss play site offers girls free book excerpts, games and quizzes, wallpaper, and much more.
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