Girl Scouts

> This is a worldwide overview of Girl Scouts. For specific nation-based Girl Scouts organizations such as Girl Scouts of the United States of America, see this page.
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>  **"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!"**
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-Juliette Gordon Low calling a distant cousin following her entrance in Savannah, Georgia, Juliette Gordon Low Biography

## Girl Scouts

The current Girl Scouts logo, introduced in 2009.

## Basic Information

### Headquarters

New York City, New York, United States of America(40.7508°N 73.9833°W)

### Founded on

March 12, 1912; 111 years ago (as of 2023)

### Membership

* 1.7 million girl members
* 750,000 adults (2020)

### Affiliation

World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts

## Source

### Official website

https://www.girlscouts.org/

**Girl Scouts** is a 501(c)(3) worldwide organization that focuses on first-aid skills, tactical skills, outdoors exploration and social events for girls worldwide. Begun in Savannah, Georgia in the United States, they were once ranked by the public as the eighth "most popular charity/non-profit in America" among more than 100 charities by a 1996 magazine by *The Chronicle of Philanthropy*.

Girl Scouts follow a series of sentences known as the Girl Scout Promise and Law, in which they pledge their loyalty to Girl Scouts and their community.

## History

On March 12, 1912, a 52-year-old woman named Juliette "Daisy" Gordon Low had organized the first group of Girl Scouts and the first troop meeting in Savannah, Georgia, with a group of only 18 girls. It has since grown to a peak of 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 for girls.

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, Illinois (USA). 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 (USA).

In late 1912, Low proposed that the Camp Fire Girls merge with the Girl Scouts 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 (USA) 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 GS's growth was limited by a lack of financial resources which led to its eventual demise.

However, Girl Scouts re-arrived overtime as financial resources were avaliable again, and their first ever commercial baked cookie by Girl Scouts of the Greater Philadelphia hit the shelves in 1934; purchases flooding in almost immediately.[citation needed]

## References

1. ↑ Juliette Gordon Low Biography.
2. ↑ Girl Scouts of the USA 2020 Annual Report (PDF).
3. ↑ The Charities Americans Like Most and Least. The Chronicle of Philanthropy (December 13, 1996).
4. ↑ Aickin Rothschild, Mary (Autumn 1981). To Scout or to Guide? The Girl Scout-Boy Scout Controversy, 1912-1941. Frontiers: A Journal of Women Studies. University of Nebraska Press..
5. ↑ FORT WINNEBAGO'S HISTORIC INDIAN AGENCY HOUSE. Retrieved on November 20, 2023.
6. ↑ Chirhart, Ann Short; Wood, Betty (2007). Georgia Women: Their Lives and Times. University of Georgia Press.