When our 2.3 million girl bosses speak—we listen.

As the world’s largest girl-led organization, Girl Scouts of the USA reports to 2.3 million girl bosses—and we go where girls lead us!

And girls lead us to some amazing collaborations with a host of organizations, like Dove, whose Free Being Me campaign empowers girls to challenge beauty stereotypes, and Dell, who we partnered with to close the technology gap and inspire more girls to explore STEM-related fields.

Another relationship we’ve forged is with Mattel. As the experts on girls and girl leadership development, we know young girls cannot be what they cannot see, which is why this relationship emphasizes career exploration. At Girl Scouts, we encourage girls to be whatever they want to be—from CEO of the world’s largest company to CEO of their families.

Three Barbie dolls are sold in the U.S. every second, so the Girl Scout-inspired doll is an invaluable communication tool that will allow our organization to reach millions of girls—members and non-members alike—with the message that they can be anything and do everything. We know that girls love to play with dolls—particularly Barbie dolls. In fact, Girl Scout members—forever having fun—are 20 percent more likely to be avid doll owners than non-member girls, with a full 77 percent of girls playing with dolls at least weekly.

And research shows that the Girl Scout-inspired doll—one aspect of our collaboration with Mattel—is a win with both girls and moms.

Girls associate the doll with hiking and the outdoors, selling cookies, and helping others, all of which are fun experiences firmly rooted in the Girl Scout mission. For over 100 years, Girl Scout programming has inspired over 59 million girls to explore new opportunities in a fun way, which is exactly what the Girl Scout-inspired doll is designed to do.

In fact, 83 percent of moms believe the Girl Scout-inspired doll will encourage their daughters to explore new opportunities, and 77 percent of moms believe the doll will help their daughters feel good about themselves.

We are Girl Scouts. We report to 2.3 million girl bosses. And when our bosses speak, we listen.

At Age 104, One Girl Scout Continues to Live by the Girl Scout Law!

Meet Milly: One of the Oldest Living Girl Scouts in the Nation

by Girl Scouts of Middle Tennessee

Born in 1909, Mildred (Milly) Lawson Ellis has been alive longer than Girl Scouts has been around.

As a child in Maryville, Missouri, Milly remembers first hearing about Girl Scouts and Juliette Gordon Low through an article in her local paper.   

In 1923, Milly’s parents drove her in their Ford Model T (one of the first in the town) from their home in Missouri to Georgia so that she could meet Juliette and learn more about Girl Scouts. They asked around Savannah until they found themselves speaking with Juliette herself. She happily entertained Milly and her family and spoke to them about Girl Scouts and Savannah and even gave tips on the best places to sightsee in town.

Upon returning home, Milly sent a letter to Girl Scout Headquarters and applied for a Lone Troop packet. Without knowing her age, headquarters sent Milly back a kit and at age 14 Milly became a troop leader to five younger girls from her neighborhood.

That first year, Milly taught the girls what she knew, as she didn’t have any training.

“I don’t know that I was the best leader, but I wanted to teach those little girls the things I had learned. They just loved it – we had the best time!”

She kept her troop going until she went to college, but still participated on breaks and holiday.

After college and marriage, Milly returned to Girl Scouts as an active volunteer, helping with troops and serving on committees in Memphis, Mobile, and Atlanta. Her 1949 move to Tullahoma, TN with her husband and son proved pivotal: while attending a Girl Scout meeting in Shelbyville, TN Milly was elected Regional Chair and placed on the Girl Scout National Board of Directors, where she served from 1956 to 1969. In this position, she visited locations around the country on Girl Scout business working with high-level volunteers and staff on the “Green Umbrella” project, where she helped consolidate smaller councils to better serve the girls.

In Middle Tennessee, she was involved with establishing Camp Sycamore Hills in Ashland City, TN and the former Camp Tannassie near Tullahoma, TN.

Though awarded the Thanks Badge for her outstanding efforts, Milly says she never thought of what she did as work.

At the age of 104, Milly continues to live by the Girl Scout Law. She is active in the Girl Scout community in her hometown of Tullahoma, TN and you can often find her talking about her Girl Scout experiences. 

Are You Coming to the Ultimate Girls’ Weekend?!

Register now—early bird registration and savings end July 15!

Girl Scout conventions only happen every three years. This year we will be celebrating at Girl Scouts’ 53rd national convention in the spectacular Salt Lake City, Utah, October 16–19, 2014. This is your year to reunite with friends, deepen and share your knowledge of Girl Scouts, and help invigorate a global movement of girls, women, and men around the theme "Discover, Connect, Take Action: Girls Change the World."

We’re delighted that so many incredible speakers and entertainers—news makers, leaders, and policy makers from across the country and around the world—are joining us to celebrate and advocate on behalf of girls. You also won’t want to miss out on the many stimulating and entertaining activities, from theme dinners and parties to the Hall of Experiences to conversations on issues important to girls and society. You can make it even more amazing by adding in some attractions and adventures unique to Utah.

Learn more about attending, including discounted travel arrangements and special gatherings that start a few days before convention's official kickoff (including Girl Scout History Conference 2014 and several learning opportunities). Then register by July 15 to save big—$70 on our four-day alumna and visitor packages—invite your friends and get ready to celebrate all the great things Girl Scouts do. Let’s convention!

Girl Scouts and Nestlé’s GirlSports Initiative Builds Future Leaders One Slam Dunk at a Time

              Who says Girl Scouts is just about cookies, camps, and crafts? Whoever it was certainly forgot about health, fitness, and leadership! Since the beginning of time—1912, to be exact—Girl Scouts of the USA has placed special emphasis on the importance of staying active and adopting a healthy lifestyle full of creative outdoor activities and a balanced diet. After all, healthy girls are happy girls, and that’s what keeps this great Movement going!

               To further our commitment to building healthy girls—and healthy leaders—Girl Scouts has partnered with Nestlé to encourage girls to participate in GirlSports, a program that promotes group and individual sports as an opportunity to gain vital leadership skills. That’s right: basketball, hiking, camping, and track and field aren’t just ways to stay active—by engaging in these sports, girls learn how to lead, whether it’s a team, a group, or their own personal efforts to succeed.

So, we know what GirlSports is, but how do we plan to execute this initiative? And how do we ensure girls are in fact developing leadership skills between the timeouts, foul balls, and finish lines? It’s simple:

•  We offer five Legacy Athlete badges that, upon completion, signify that girls have built skills ranging from good sportsmanship to effective coaching strategies.
• Want to create your own path? That’s what leadership is all about! With our Make Your Own Badge option, you can get behind the wheel and customize your own GirlSports badge. Get creative!
•  Stay connected! Girls across the country are taking the lead in their lives through sports and outdoor activities; connect with them! We’ve created a place for girls to share success stories and motivate fellow Girl Scout sisters as they get active.

         At Girl Scouts, we’re 2.3 million girls strong—and are excited to build 2.3 million strong girls!

        Why?

         Research shows—and by “research,” we mean first-hand experience with the very girls who make up this Movement—that getting active through team sports allows girls to break out of their shells and let their inner stars shine. Just take it from Melissa, a 12-year-old Cadette who was admittedly shy and quiet whenever it was time to speak up. By her fifth year in Girl Scouts, she had had countless challenging yet fun experiences that helped make her more confident and even fearless. And possessing these skills can help all girls create amazingly bright futures for themselves. Girls who play sports, even just for fun, make better grades and go to college, develop greater confidence in their own abilities, and even compete in male-dominated career positions, among many other advantages.

         There are so many reasons to get involved with GirlSports. What’s your reason? Learn more about this exciting program here and get started today!

               

Girl Scouts and Google Inspire Girls to Code

Last week, Google announced an exciting new initiative—and Girl Scouts of the USA is excited to be part of it. Made With Code aims to change the way girls think about coding, and inspire them to consider careers in computer science. The program includes:

• A new site where girls can try Blockly-based coding projects like designing a 3D-printed bracelet, learning to create animated GIFs, and even building beats for a music track.
• A directory where volunteers, girls, and their parents can find additional coding resources and opportunities, such as camps and clubs.
• Video profiles of girls and women who are using computer science in new and exciting ways.

Here at Girl Scouts we know that Computer Science and coding is a critical skill that will give girls great power to create, to innovate, and quite literally change the world - but surprisingly few girls see Computer Science as part of their future. Girls simply don’t think coding is cool and they don’t connect it with things they are interested in.

Our goal is to demonstrate how coding can help girls to pursue, and reach, their dreams. Made with Code will encourage girls to write their own future and show them that it can take them anywhere!

Google has also collaborated with other youth-serving organizations, along with leaders in the tech industry and celebrities like Mindy Kaling. “Less than 1 percent of high school girls see computer science as part of their future,” says Kaling. “Made with Code lets girls see coding not just as something they can do, but something they'd love to do."  

To get started with this exciting program, just head over to Made With Code —and don’t forget to make your free bracelet!

Girl Scouts is excited to support girl coders and those who are just discovering the possibilities!