Dear Girl Scout members and friends,
Spring is early bird registration season for Girl Scouts, when we ask both new and returning girls and volunteers to sign up for another year of adventure with the best girl leadership program in the world!
We are excited to be out and about in our communities welcoming new girls who want and need all that Girl Scouts offers: fresh, relevant, and modern programming delivered in an all-girl, girl-led environment. I’m so grateful for all you do to make that possible!
As you may have heard, last fall Boy Scouts decided to allow girls to join and is now actively recruiting girls to its co-ed scouting program. Earlier this month, Boy Scouts announced that it is dropping “boy” from its name in a bid to attract more girls to its program.
There is no contest! Girl Scouts is the BEST leadership organization for girls. As Sylvia Acevedo, CEO of Girl Scouts of the USA states so well, “We are, and will remain, the first choice for girls and parents who want to provide their girls with opportunities to build new skills; explore STEM and the outdoors; participate in community projects; and grow into happy, successful, and civically engaged adults.”
For more than 100 years, Girl Scouts has stood with girls as they lead with grit and compassion, overcome challenges, and stand up for themselves and others. We are the premier leadership organization for girls and the largest girl-serving organization in the nation because we believe in the potential of all girls to empower themselves and lift up others. Girl Scouts is unmatched in delivering proven outcomes that set girls up to close the gender gap and position our nation to compete in the global economy.
We stand firmly in our conviction that girls need girl-only opportunities designed by and for them, and I’m writing today to ask for your active support as we counter confusion and misinformation created by Boy Scouts.
Misinformation and Confusion
Boy Scouts has begun recruiting girls across the country, including right here in our council. These efforts have caused confusion among parents and schools. We are hearing things like:
- “Are Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts the same organization?”
- “Are all scouting programs the same?”
- “Are Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts merging?”
More than half of non-scouting families think that the two organizations are the same, which means it will be very easy to confuse schools and families into thinking that “co-ed scouting” is the same experience for girls as Girl Scouts.
Let me set the record straight:
- Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts are – and always have been – two separate organizations.
- Girl Scouts programs are designed with and for girls
- Girl Scouts will not merge with Boy Scouts.
Here’s how you can help clear up the confusion and correct the misinformation
You can take action to make the case for Girl Scouts and help us amplify the over 100 years of amazing work by the Girl Scouts to build women of courage, confidence and character who make the world a better place. This is what we owe our girls. Families need to have all of the facts when they decide what organization provides the best opportunities for their daughters to develop the skills, confidence and values to succeed in life.
Be prepared to be a myth buster:
We are hearing myths and stereotypes of Girls Scouts (things like Girl Scouts don’t go on adventures, which is absolutely not true!). Please take a look at the Girl Scout Myth Busters handout so you can be an advocate and educator. If you hear something that sounds off to you or hear a myth that is missing, please let us know. Send it to communications@gskh.org.
Share your love for Girl Scouts on social media:
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn so you can share and let your networks know why you’re proud to be a part of an organization that puts girls at the center.
Join us as a G.I.R.L. Champion:
If you are a volunteer or supporter and want to share your Girl Scout stories with prospective parents, volunteers, and girls during recruitment and troop formation events, email communications@gskh.org to learn more about how to become a G.I.R.L. Champion. Help us bust myths and make sure that what is best for girls remains at the center of this conversation.
Join the just-launched Girl Scout Network on LinkedIn:
Follow this link to the Girl Scout Network and follow the network to stay on top of what’s going on in the community of Girl Scout alums.
We need your help to ensure that the community and prospective members know that only the Girl Scout program is based on decades of research and more than 100 years of experience in putting girls at the center.
Girls deserve the best possible opportunities, and Girl Scouts provides them. There is simply no substitute for Girl Scouts.
I hope you’ll take action to make the case for Girl Scouts so that families have all the facts they need to make the best choice for their daughters.
Thank you for being a part of the Girl Scout Movement –
For Girls. By Girls. All Girls!
Yours in Girl Scouting,
Liz Workman
Chief Executive Officer
Girl Scouts of Kansas Heartland
Resources
You can subscribe to the Raising Awesome Girls blog, written by the Chief Girl and Parent Expert at Girl Scouts of the USA, or explore the following resources developed by the Girl Scout Research Institute (that’s right, a research institute all about what’s best for girls!):
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