Girl Scouts
Girl Scouts of America is an organization dedicated to helping girls grow as individuals, leaders, and community activists. The goal of the organization is to assist girls of all ages to become more confident in their abilities, develop a healthy self esteem, build friendships, and develop new skills that can be used in the real world. The Girl Scouts of America organization was established in 1912 under the direction of Juliette Gordon.
By 1920 more than 70,000 girls had joined the Girl Scouts of America. During this time the girls were encouraged to reach for their dreams and be an equal part to the boys and men of the world. Girl Scouts were given the opportunity to learn valuable skills and to have a positive image of themselves. There were some individuals in society who felt that teaching girls to behave in such a manner was inappropriate but the number of new members continued to grow.
However, the Great Depression of 1929 was a time when Girl Scouts had to focus on what was best for their families, communities, and the world as a whole. The focus became more about community action than individual needs. Yet all was not lost as the Girl Scouts got to find out how good it could feel to help others.
The Girl Scouts of America showed the world what they could accomplish in 1941 after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Older Girl Scouts volunteered their time in hospitals, child care centers while women worked, and emergency care needs. They also collected clothing to give to those in need.
Over the course of history there have been many events that Girl Scouts have generously given of their time, money, and skills to assist with. The care and compassion from Girl Scouts all over the world after the attacks in the United States on 09/11/01 show how truly dedicated the Girl Scouts of America are to assisting those in need.
Today more than 3.6 million girls around the world are part of the organization. Girl Scouts participate in various activities in their troop that is lead by adult volunteers, generally parents of girls involved in the program. They learn compassion for others through community outreach projects and how it feels to help others in need. Since Girl Scouts of America is a non profit organization, they depend on money from their very popular Girl Scout cookies sells that take place annually.
