page_title: Girl Scouts of the USA
section_title: Girl Guides of America
hierarchical_section_title: Girl Scouts of the USA / History / Girl Guides of America
caption_attribution_description: English: en:Juliette Gordon Low
context_page_description: Girl Scouts of the United States of America, commonly referred to as simply Girl Scouts, is a youth organization for girls in the United States and American girls living abroad. Founded by Juliette Gordon Low in 1912, it was organized after Low met Robert Baden-Powell, the founder of Scouting, in 1911. Upon returning to Savannah, Georgia, she telephoned a distant cousin, saying, "I've got something for the girls of Savannah, and all of America, and all the world, and we're going to start it tonight!"
  Girl Scouts prepares girls to empower themselves and promotes compassion, courage, confidence, character, leadership, entrepreneurship, and active citizenship through activities involving camping, community service, learning first aid, and earning badges by acquiring practical skills. Girl Scouts' achievements are recognized with various special awards, including the Girl Scout Gold, Silver, and Bronze Awards.
  Girl Scout membership is organized according to grade, with activities designed for each level. GSUSA is a member of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts and accepts girls of all backgrounds.
context_section_description: Girl Scouting in the United States of America began on March 12, 1912, when Juliette "Daisy" Gordon Low organized the first Girl Guide troop meeting of 18 girls in Savannah, Georgia. It has since grown to 3.7 million members. Low, who had met Baden-Powell in London while she was living in the United Kingdom, dreamed of giving the United States and the world "something for all the girls." She envisioned an organization that would bring girls out of their homes to serve their communities, experience the out-of-doors, and have the opportunity to develop "self-reliance and resourcefulness." From its inception, the Girl Scouts has been organized and run exclusively by women, for girls and women.
  Juliette Gordon Low was the granddaughter of Juliette Magill Kinzie and John Harris Kinzie, whose childhood family was one of the earliest settlers of Chicago, IL. Juliette Kinzie wrote about her experiences in the Northwest Territory (now the state of Wisconsin) in her book Wau-Bun: The Early Day. Some of what her granddaughter, Juliette Gordon Low, knew firsthand about her grandmother's experiences on the frontier were incorporated into the beginnings and traditions of Girl Scouts. The early home of Juliette Low's grandparents can be visited May 15 through October 15 in Portage, Wisconsin.
  In late 1912, Low proposed that the Camp Fire Girls merge with the Girl Guides but was rejected in January 1913 as Camp Fire was then the larger group. Next, Low attempted to merge her organization with the Girl Scouts of America which was founded in Des Moines, Iowa by Clara Lisetor-Lane. She thought their similarities would make this easier but Lisetor-Lane felt Daisy copycatted her organization and threatened to sue. Lisetor-Lane later claimed Low's organization was luring members away but the GSA's growth was limited by a lack of financial resources which led to its eventual demise.
caption: Juliette Gordon Low (center), with two Girl Scouts.
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