Happy 100th, Girls!

Girl Scout Mission: Girl Scouting builds girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place.

As a Girl Scout, I’ve enjoyed ice skating and bowling.  I’ve learned about the native cultures of the other girls in my troop, while tasting homemade tortillas and injera and sipping Jamaican soda.  I’ve used all my inventory control skills in managing sales of 200-300 cases of Thin Mints and Samoas.  And I survived camping, in the mountains in early spring and in the woods at 32 degrees – the hiking, the canoeing, sitting around a campfire and toasting marshmallows for s’mores.  I have to be organized for my bi-weekly meetings and have my assignments done, learn to get along with others, and get over being nervous about speaking and singing in front of others.  I hope my girls are having as much fun as I am!

Like most parents, when my girls were invited by school friends to join their Brownie troop, I also became a part of Girl Scouts.  I thought I found a safe place as “cookie mom” and then I was convinced to become the Troop Leader.  Other than being insanely over-committed, I looked forward to the opportunity to spend a little extra time with Breeze, my middle daughter, in a way that would be uniquely her own activity (all three of my girls are scouts, but its me and the middle one who are Juniors together).  Every other week, I experience one of my most exhausting hours – corralling 15 4^th and 5^th graders into an active, learning activity to earn a badge.  We’ve discussed goal setting (what do we want to do this year) and budgeting (what are we going to do with our cookie money), committed to community service (donating food to a local pantry and sending cookies to servicemen serving abroad), and making the right choices, while singing, painting, and, yes, even sewing.  My girls often come straight from the soccer fields in muddy cleats or rushing in from music lessons, but they are consistent in coming every other week because being a Girl Scout is a little bit different from their activities.  There’s no score, there’s no competition.  It’s the chance for the girls to get together in a social setting, where they learn to work together and enjoy each other’s company.

Today marks the 100^th Anniversary of the Girl Scouts, a celebration of Juliette Gordon Lowe’s plan to offer girls the opportunity to develop physically, mentally, and spiritually through community service and physical activity.

Everyone can encourage the development of girls through the Girl Scouts: 

• Volunteer - make a commitment to volunteer with your daughter’s troop – chaperone a trip, take a snack for a meeting, lead an activity.

• Join – to get your daughter involved in scouting, contact the Girl Scout council in your area to find a local troop.  

• Inspire – women, offer to visit a troop and tell them about your career and your education, volunteer with a troop, be a role model

• Support - buy a box of cookies when you pass by them at the grocery store – the troops use the proceeds to fund their activities (can't seem to find any Girl Scouts - check the Cookie Locator)

• Donate – make a donation at the cookie booths - most troops will in turn donate the cookies to another well-deserving group like our local firemen or service men serving abroad

 

Then, collect your graham crackers, marshmallows, and chocolate and make yourself a s’more in honor of the Girl Scouts.  And if you are/were a Girl Scout, share a favorite memory or Girl Scout song!

*try something new - see my post a few days ago for a delicious Cookie Brownie