Spotlight On :: The Girl Scouts of America

My family moved quite a bit when I was younger. In 2nd grade I went to three different schools in one year. Sometimes it was hard to adjust to a new city or school as a kid, but I do value that experience as an adult as it taught me coping skills at a young age. One year, I joined our local Brownie Troop (see below) and made some instant friends. And earning my badges was a highlight of being a part of this organization that helps build confidence and character in girls.

Founded in 1912, Girl Scouts of the USA is the preeminent leadership development organization for girls, with 3.2 million girl and adult members worldwide. Girl Scouts is the leading authority on girls’ healthy development, and builds girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place. The organization serves girls from every corner of the United States and its territories. Girl Scouts of the USA also serves American girls and their classmates attending American or international schools overseas in 90 countries. My daughter joined her local Daisy Troop this past year and is really enjoying the time spent with her classmates. I love how she is learning about giving back to her community as well as building these lasting friendships. This past spring, some of her Daisy Troop members visited a woman who was a volunteer at her elementary school for years but recently had to stop as her health was failing. They visited her in the nursing home that she was living in and their visit absolutely made her day if not week! These types of life experiences are wonderful for our young girls to experience. My daughter really enjoyed visiting a local bakery where they learned the ins-and-outs of running a bakery as well as had a first-hand tour of the back room where all the yummy cakes, cookie and pies are made. We are fortunate that our Daisy Troop leader is a former educator and really makes each meeting special and unique.

The Girls Scouts are encouraging young girls to think about what adventures they might like to go on and goals they are working towards in their “I can’t wait to” campaign. The campaign captures the fun of Girl Scouting with the theme “I can’t wait to” and girl-friendly grassroots promotions that will reach every community nationwide. With 3.2 million Girl Scouts and 112 Girl Scout councils across the country, parents, caregivers and volunteers are vital to the organization’s success. They are dedicating the week of September 30 – October 6 to get the word out to encourage caretakers and parents to talk to their girls about what they “can’t wait to” do and accomplish. When I asked my adventurous seven year old what she can’t wait to do and her reply was “I can’t wait to ride the largest roller coaster in the world!”

Teaching our girls they can accomplish most anything they set their minds to is what Girls Scouts is all about! Plus building their self-esteem, character and learning to work with other girls are all essential life skills. And the research proves that Girl Scouts works! In fact, in a 2012 study of more than 3,750
women by the Girl Scout Research Institute, titled Girl Scouting Works: The Alumnae Impact Study, women who were Girl Scouts as girls display positive life outcomes, higher incomes and education levels, and make more money to a greater degree than women who were not Girl Scouts. This is a compelling reason for parents to enroll their daughters in Girl Scouts. The investment is small for such a large return on building up our girls!

For more information on how to join, volunteer or reconnect with, or donate to Girl Scouts, call 800-GSUSA-4-U (212-852-8000) or visit www.girlscouts.org/join.

You can find Girl Scouts here:

Girl Scouts Website –

Girl Scouts on Facebook –

Girl Scouts on Twitter –

Girl Scouts on Pinterest –

Girl Scouts on YouTube –

Photo courtesy of Flickr:

Disclosure: The Girl Scouts sponsored today’s post but this did not affect my opinion in any way.