The Girl Scouts Message of Leadership

When I was a little girl I was a Brownie, which is a part of the Girl Scouts.  I loved being a Brownie and my mom was even our leader!  Today, I’ve had the honor of getting to work with the Girl Scouts in cities around the country and I've gotten to learn about what this incredibly strong organization does for young girls and developing women today.  It makes me proud that I got to be a part of it, even though I was just a little girl!  

The Girl Scouts organization encourages girls to be leaders and to make a difference in their community.  Many of us know and love all the yummy flavors of Girl Scout Cookies, but if you look beyond the sweet treats, there's a deeper reason why these girls are selling you your Tag Alongs and Thin Mints - This cookie selling tradition helps these girls learn responsibility, gain confidence and build communication skills that will help in their future careers.  If you live in New York City, you might have seen Girl Scouts selling their famous cookies right in Grand Central Station earlier this month (talk about a great business lesson, location, location, location!) The proof is in the pudding (or shall I say, cookies!) when you look at Girl Scout statistics.  There are so many young women who come out of this program who go on to do great things, in fact 59% of United States female senators are former Girl Scouts!

I’ll be traveling to Oklahoma this week to visit with the Juliette Low Leadership Society with the Girl Scouts of Western Oklahoma and I"ll get the opportunity to speak to them about how far women have come in the past 50 years, fostering leadership, and the new leadership roles women are taking.  The Girl Scouts encourage girls to reach for their highest potential, be leaders of courage, confidence and character while discovering themselves, connecting with others and taking action. The Girl Scouts message holds hands with my personal message that I give when speaking to women all over the country about taking charge of your life, making opportunities for yourself, getting involved in what is important to you and writing your own future.  And remember, you don’t have to be a Girl Scout to incorporate these ideals into your own life.  Girl Scout or not - we have come so far as women in today’s works.  We currently have 19 world leaders in power who are women!  

Girl Scouts are changing communities everywhere. Over in Western Oklahoma where I’ll be visiting, the 12,000 Girl Scouts contribute more than 162,000 hours of service in their communities each year.  They are striving to achieve equality and gain economic self-sufficiency by combatting wage inequity, poverty, teen pregnancy and insufficient education through their programs like teaching life skills training at Juvenile Centers, character and leadership courses in school programs, and self esteem training for residents of government-subsidized housing communities.  The Girl Scouts organization recognizes that investing in women and girls means their children, families, state and national economics will benefit as well. (Information from Girls Scouts of Western Oklahoma) 

It is so important for women to support and encourage each other, be role models to our younger generation, and help one another gain confidence through hard work and success.  The best part about my job is celebrating women’s successes and inspiring women to be the best they can be every day.  Organizations like the Girl Scouts bring girls together to celebrate leadership  and strength, which is really half the battle.  Getting a group of women together creates power, confidence, and strength.  I see this every year at my Camp Reveille where I bring women from all over the country together to inspire and support each other.  Something special happens when women come together and make these connections.  You can see this special spark ignite with the young girls of the Girl Scouts, but no matter what age we are, we can be leader’s of our own lives and remember as the Girl Scouts say, “A leader is defined not only by the qualities and skills one has, but also by how those qualities and skills are used to make a difference in the world.”