The 95th anniversary year of Girl Scouting kicked off in Denver March 12 when Girl Scouts from Troop 322 of Lakewood led the Pledge of Allegiance for members of the House of Representatives at the Capitol. Girl Scouts of the USA CEO Kathy Cloninger also hosted a ceremony in New York City to launch a series of nationwide events in honor of the anniversary. Girl Scouts - Mile Hi Council joined the celebration with special activities in the Denver area, highlighting the Girl Scout Movement's tradition of building leadership through action that makes the world a better place.
Anniversary events included:
- "Girl Scouts Make the World a Better Place Week," March 11-17, featuring good deeds by the nearly four million Girl Scout members around the country;
- A national tree-planting initiative in which each of the 309 local Girl Scout councils planted 95 trees as a part of the launch of "Trees for the 21 st Century TM" program, a collaboration with The Future of Life, Inc. [
www.futureoflife.org];
- A sing-along for more than 100,000 Girl Scouts on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. and a Mile Hi Council sing-along for Denver Scouts in Littleton; and
- A GSUSA National Advocacy Day featuring meetings between 700 Girl Scout executive leaders, girls and members of Congress to discuss issues important to girls today.
In the Denver area, state lawmakers celebrated 95 years of Girl Scouting. Both Mayor Hickenlooper and Gov. Ritter proclaimed the week "Girl Scout Week." Monday, March 12, Girl Scout Troop 322 from Lakewood led the Pledge of Allegiance during the opening portion of the meeting for the members of the House of Representatives. Senator Betty Boyd and Senator Joan Fitzgerald then spent time with the girls teaching them about the legislative system before sending them on a special tour of the Capitol building.
Lakewood Heritage Center kicked off an exhibit, "Legacies: Celebrating 95 Years of Girl Scouting," which will be open until Aug. 24, 2007. The exhibit includes original uniforms, guidebooks, photos and artifacts associated with Girl Scouts of the USA. Special workshops and activities such as papermaking, bookbinding and quilting have been planned to give local Girl Scouts an opportunity to fulfill badge requirements as well as to learn what it was like to be a Girl Scout throughout history.
Other notable activities girls participated in during Girl Scout Week in Denver included Girl Scout cookie send-off events to overseas troops. These events allowed girls to gather to send their cookies overseas at exciting celebrations of patriotism, generosity and cookie activity success.
Juliette Gordon Low founded Girl Scouting in 1912 in Savannah, Ga., with one troop of 18 girls, and since then more than 50 million girls have built leadership skills through Girl Scouting. Research shows that Girl Scout alumnae now represent 70 percent of women serving in Congress, 64 percent of women listed in "Who's Who in America" and 53 percent of women business owners.
Illustrious alumnae include Sandra Day O'Connor, the first female to sit on the Supreme Court of the United States; Madeleine Albright, the first female Secretary of State; Eileen Collins, the first woman space shuttle commander; Dr. Drew Gilpin Faust, the first female president of Harvard University; and Katie Couric, the first woman to anchor a network evening newscast.
"The success of Girl Scouting is no accident. When Juliette Gordon Low founded Girl Scouts in 1912, she understood that girls need leadership skills to develop their full potential," said Mile Hi Council CEO, Jean Jones. "We all have Juliette Gordon Low to thank for much of the advancement that has been achieved by girls and women in the past century, and in celebrating our 95 th anniversary, Girl Scout membersare proud to take part in the world's best leadership experience for girls."
While many people associate Girl Scouting with the fun of camping and cookies, Low wanted girls to experience the beauty and the challenges of the outdoors so they might develop self-reliance and resourcefulness. She encouraged girls to prepare not only for traditional homemaking, but also for future roles as professional women in the arts, sciences and business, and for active citizenship. One of America's first female aviators, she introduced a Girl Scout aviation badge back in 1916 - four years before women won the right to vote.
Today, Girl Scouts of the USA has nearly four million girl and adult members and is the preeminent organization for and leading authority on girls. Girl Scouts travel the world, learn 21 st-century business skills and prepare for a high-tech future. The Girl Scout Leadership Development Program now reaches girls in every zip code, including locations in public housing, homeless shelters, juvenile detention centers, women's prisons, immigrant communities and isolated rural areas.
Girl Scouts - Mile Hi Council is where girls in Denver and 13 surrounding counties gain courage, confidence and character alongside a group of girls who will be their friends for life. It's a safe place for girls to explore their world, develop an understanding and empathy for others and take action to make the world a better place. Girls are guided by committed, caring adults who make learning fun. No other activity helps each girl achieve her personal leadership pathway like Girl Scouting. Girl Scouts has been the nation's leading expert on girls for nearly 100 years.