Girl Scouts turns 95

The 95th anniversary year of Girl Scouting kicks off on March 12 when Girl Scouts of the USA CEO Kathy Cloninger hosts a ceremony in New York City and launches a series of nationwide events. Girl Scouts of Northeast Georgia will join the celebration with special activities in the Northeast Georgia area, highlighting the Girl Scout Movement's tradition of building leadership through action that makes the world a better place.

Anniversary events include

"Girl Scouts Make the World a Better Place Week," March 12-19, featuring good deeds by 3.6 million Girl Scout members around the country;

Forever Green Day; March 12, a day where all Girl Scouts and supporters are asked to wear green;

The Spring release of a new Girl Scout Research Institute research review on girls and leadership;

A national tree-planting initiative this spring in which each of the 302 local Girl Scout councils plants 95 trees donated by the nonprofit The Future of Life (www.futureoflife.org);

A sing-along for more than 100,000 Girl Scouts on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. on June 9; and

A GSUSA National Advocacy Day on June 13 featuring meetings between 700 Girl Scout executive leaders, girls and members of Congress to discuss issues important to girls today.

Juliette Gordon Low founded Girl Scouting in 1912 in Savannah, Ga., with one troop of 18 girls, and since then more than 50 million girls have built leadership skills through Girl Scouting. Research shows that Girl Scout alumnae now represent 70 percent of women serving in Congress, 64 percent of women listed in "Who's Who in America" and 53 percent of women business owners.

Illustrious alumnae include Sandra Day O'Connor, the first female to sit on the Supreme Court of the United States; Madeleine Albright, the first female Secretary of State; Eileen Collins, the first woman space shuttle commander; Dr. Drew Gilpin Faust, the first female president of Harvard University; and Katie Couric, the first woman to anchor a network evening newscast.

"The success of Girl Scouting is no accident. When Juliette Gordon Low founded Girl Scouts in 1912, she understood that girls need leadership skills to develop their full potential," says Girl Scouts of Northeast Georgia council executive director, Cheryl K. Legette. "We all have Juliette Gordon Low to thank for much of the advancement that has been achieved by girls and women in the past century, and today 8,000 local Girl Scout members are proud to take part in the world's best leadership experience for girls."

While many people associate Girl Scouting with the fun of camping, Low wanted girls to experience the beauty and the challenges of the outdoors so they might develop selfreliance and resourcefulness. She encouraged girls to prepare not only for traditional homemaking, but also for future roles as professional women in the arts, sciences, and business, and for active citizenship. One of America's first female aviators, she introduced a Girl Scout aviation badge back in 1916 - four years before women won the right to vote.

Today, Girl Scouts of the USA has 3.6 million girl and adult members and is the preeminent organization for and leading authority on girls. Girl Scouts travel the world, learn 21st-century business skills and prepare for a high-tech future. The Girl Scout Leadership Development Program now reaches girls in every zip code, including locations in public housing, homeless shelters, juvenile detention centers, women's prisons, immigrant communities and isolated rural areas.

About Girl Scouts:

Founded in 1912, Girl Scouts of the USA is the preeminent leadership development organization for girls with 3.6 million girl and adult members worldwide. Girl Scouting 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 strives to serve girls from every corner of the United States and its territories. Girls Scouts of the USA also serves American girls and their classmates attending American or international schools overseas in 90 countries. For more information on how to join, volunteer, reconnect or donate to Girl Scouts, call (800) 300- 4475 or visit www.girlscoutsnegeorgia. org.