Girl Scouts of the USA
The story of Girl Scouts started on March 12, 1912., and it is the biggest and most popular non-profit organization in America. It all started when Juliette Daisy Gordon Low started the first Girl Guide group. The original Girl Scouts had eighteen girls, and they were in Savannah, Georgia. As the group became more and more popular, the interest grew, and so did numbers. Girl Scouts managed to have nearly four million members at one point!
As we mentioned, the original name was Girl Guides of America. But that name wasn’t meant to stay. In fact, only a year later the change occurred, and the organization was rebranded as Girl Scouts of the United States. Girl Scouts also moved their headquarters to Washington D.C. The new name remained in use for a while, until it was finally changed in 1947 to Girl Scouts of the United States of America.
The Early Years
Even though the group started with eighteen girls, it wasn’t long before everyone wanted to be a part of Girl Scouts. It wasn’t long before you could see blue knee-length uniforms all across the country. Before 1920, the number of members increased to over 70,000. And by 1923, the organization reached every state in the union, almost doubling the numbers.
The GSUSA continued to grow each year, and the importance of the organization was more important than ever. What is impressive about Girl Scouts is that they changed the world. They managed to affect the way people see women. It was one of the first organizations dedicated to empowerment.
We are talking about the time when women weren’t allowed to vote. And having these eighteen women willing to share the adventure and sense of curiosity was the beginning of the necessary change.
Girl Scouts in the World
More than a decade after the GGA was formed in Georgia, the international organization was created in Hungary. The World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (or WAGGGS) was established in 1928 in Parád, while the headquarters is in London.
It is an organization dedicated to female-oriented Scouting and Guiding organizations, covering 152 countries. The most important mission of the international Girl Scout Association is to enable young women to reach their full potential. To be responsible citizens. And this is one of the essential reasons why the organization is so popular, and why it is necessary even today.
Education
Education is one of the most important parts of Girl Scouts. It gives the members a chance to learn about their environment, world, and ways to reach their full potential. Of course, this isn’t a typical form of education. Members won’t get a degree after they finish the course, and they will focus on more practical things.
Another thing we should mention is that there are many different sub-organizations within GSUSA. A beautiful example is the American Heritage Girls organization, which focuses on teaching an alternative to regular GSUSA.
The AHG was founded in 1995, and it has more than 50,000 members across the entire country. It is a Christian-based version of Girl Scouts. The group accepts all biological girls regardless of their race and nationality, and everyone is welcome to learn more about Bible and Scouting.
As with any other Scout group, members will get a chance to develop their planning skills, participate in various activities, events, and camping, but at the same time learn about the Word of God. There are different programs based on the age of the girl, and each focuses on both leadership skills and spiritual development.
The Right Path to Empowerment
If you are interested in sending your daughter to one of the Girl Scouts organizations, it is one of the best ways to help her learn about life, spirituality, and develop essential leadership and social skills.
The primary focus of these groups is empowerment and ensuring that each member understands their true potential. There are many other Christian-based Scout groups you can find across the country, and each offers something different and unique.
However, they all share the same goal of reaching spiritual fulfillment and teaching children the importance of God. The only thing you need to do is check if there is a Girl Scout organization in your area, or which one is the closest to you. It will be a wonderful experience for your child to have a chance to spend time and learn about the world in a proper way.
Keep in mind that Robert Balden-Powell was one of the pioneers of Scouting, and his primary focus was Christianity. He believed in the importance of “the practice of Christianity in their everyday life and dealings, and not merely the profession of theology on Sundays.” If you share his opinion that each Scout does their “duty to God” in the first place, there are many beautiful organizations where your Girl Scout will feel at home.
