You Might Be a Girl Scout If…

Ask a Girl Scout what she loved about her years as a member and you’re likely to get a variety of stories and experiences with some common themes like friendship, fun, and life skills binding us all together. What can we say? When you’re a girl-led organization, the experience is going to be as unique as the girls themselves. And yet for all of the differences we’ve found a few things that if your answer is yes, it’s pretty likely you might be a Girl Scout. What do you think, do they sound like you?

1. You can’t remember your siblings’ birthdays but you know Juliette Gordon Low‘s by heart! Of course the fact that our founder was born on Halloween helps just a little. Why can’t everyone be born on holidays?
2. You save dryer lint and used candles to make fire starters.What else are you supposed to do with them? Throw them out? That’s wasteful. 
3. You have more years of experience with marketing and sales techniques than some professionals in those fields. After all, you’ve been perfecting your selling strategies since elementary school. Those Thin Mints are good, but they don’t just sell themselves.
4. You are overly prepared for things. Why would they give you so much space in your purse/trunk/backpack if they didn’t want you to fill it?
5. You know all the words to “Alice the Camel” and “Make New Friends” but cannot remember your high school fight song. Maybe fight songs should have catchier tunes that are easy to sing around a campfire? Nah, you’d probably still prefer “Alice the Camel”. It’s a classic. 
6. You find yourself judging other people’s fire building technique. Did they just dump those sticks in a pile and light them? I mean at least organize them into an A-frame or a log cabin. Maybe a teepee. And is that lighter fluid I see? Amateurs.
7. When you have to leave the group, you find yourself looking around for your buddy. It’s just good sense to travel in pairs at camp, on a hike, or really wherever you’re going. 
8. Someone asks for a volunteer and your hand is immediately in the air. You didn’t even consciously raise it. It just happens!
9. The words to “God Bless My Underwear” wander through your mind every time you sing “God Bless America”. Camp songs…there’s no escaping them!
10. You can think of over 20 possible uses for a bandana. And feel underdressed and unprepared if you’re on a hike without one.
11. You know you have the skills and determination to change the world. You’ve been doing it since you were a wee little girl in your Girl Scout uniform.
12.  You correct people who say they used to be a Girl Scout because you know once a Girl Scout, always a Girl Scout! 

No matter if you joined as a child, volunteered as an adult, or have a lifetime membership with Girl Scouts, we’re all part of a global sisterhood with a long history of building girls of courage, confidence and character who are making the world a better place. And that’s quite a legacy, isn’t it?

7 Lessons of Troop Beverly Hills

When a staff member said “you know, there’s a lot of awesome lessons for our troops in the movie Troop Beverly Hills”, we were pretty skeptical. Seriously, how often is a fun and kinda fluffy movie from 1989 still relevant decades later to the organization it parodied? After watching it, we’ve got to say there’s a lot of awesome lessons for volunteers (and our troops) in that movie. Here’s a few we loved:

 

1. You’re never too old to try something new-even if it’s out of your comfort zone! As the film synopsis points out Phyllis, the new troop leader, is going through a divorce and decides to find focus in her life by taking over her daughter’s troop. Is she super outdoorsy with wilderness skills galore? Nope. Is she willing to take an active interest in the girls in her troop? Yes. And that’s what matters most!
2. Following your girls always leads to awesome things! No two troops will have exactly the same experience in Girl Scouts. Why? Because Girl Scouts is girl-led. And when you let the girls lead, you end up doing amazing things that are as fun and unique as the members of your troop. No matter what choices the girls make for badges or activities, if they’re discovering new things, connecting with others, and making the world a better place you’re fulfilling the purpose of our organization.
3. You don’t have to be an expert to be an amazing Girl Scout volunteer! Just as each girl has different skills and talents, so do the adults who volunteer to support them. So if you’re not the best fire builder of your troop or your pinterest crafts never turn out right, don’t despair. You’ve got the most important thing-heart! And for those difficult badges or activities, check out our community partners and program events.You do you and we’ll help you find contacts to help with the rest!
4. If you don’t know something, don’t be afraid to ask! Remember even the most experienced volunteer was a newbie at some point and had lots of questions. So ask questions, get tips from veteran volunteers, post a query on our GSWO Volunteer Support Facebook. We promise your fellow volunteers (and our staff) will be more helpful than Phyllis’ nemesis Velda.
5. You can make anything more fun by adding music and choreography- especially cookie booths. Songs and skits have been part of Girl Scouts since the beginning for a reason-they’re fun, build a sense of community, and let the girls use their creative skills. Check out these 5 Camp Songs every Girl Scout should know and add some harmonious chants and silly moves to your next troop outing! 
6. Everyone, both girls and adults, struggles sometimes. Underneath the couture clothing and Beverly Hills flash the troop members in the movie are each dealing with their own issues like divorce, financial problems, being overlooked (have some tissues nearby for the scene where Chica’s parents forget her birthday), and even feeling like they don’t belong. Life isn’t perfect and that’s why girls (and adults) need a supportive group like Girl Scouts as they learn to face the challenges and struggles in their own lives. 
7. And finally everything (matching uniforms, group chants, and wilderness skills) is better with friends. When girls work together they can do amazing things. That cooperative environment and the relationships formed in it is the reason Girl Scouts is still going strong after 100 years. Girl Scouts: powered by girls, for girls!

Did you learn a little from Phyllis and her Wilderness Girls? We sure did! For our final piece of advice from this awesome movie, we leave you with Phyllis’ take on the Girl Scout motto: be prepared.

Now what are you waiting for? Renew your 2017 membership and let’s make this year the best Girl Scout year yet!

The Things Girl Scouts Say About Girl Scouts

As Girl Scout volunteers, alumnae, and staff we often get asked, and even ask ourselves, why Girl Scouts? What can girls get here they’re not getting somewhere else? While there are many awesome answers to that question (and some great studies by the Girl Scout Research Institute) the best answers come from the girls themselves. Here are a few comments from girls at recent Program Events and Highest Awards evaluations that illustrate why girls love and need Girl Scouts:

“Mud, mud, mud. How I love how squishy and sticky it is on my shoes. Thanks for taking us on the hike, my mom never lets me get dirty!” 6th grader at Program Aide Training

”Even though it was gross, I like learning how every girl goes through the same thing!” 4th grader at Growing Up Female

“What makes me feel best about this event? That all girls aren’t prissy!” 9^th grader at Sow What? Journey Retreat

“I have never been hiking before.” 3rd grader at Hiker

“I can see the change I made in my community, and I feel proud of what I accomplished.” 12th grade Gold Award Recipient

“I feel inspired to become an engineer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” 5^th grader at Design it, Build It

“Helping others makes me happy!” 5th grade Bronze Award Recipient

“I want to do this again. I had so much fun and I met new friends.” 8th grader at Resident Camp

“I feel beautiful and I want all my friends to feel beautiful too.” 4th grader at Free Being Me

“I love Girl Scouts because I’m able to do awesome things!” 5th grade Bronze Award Recipient

“My favorite part was that we got to choose how we changed the recipe and work together. And you let us do it all ourselves.” 5th grader at Junior Chef

“This has been the best day ever!” 2nd grader at Letterboxer

“I conquered the pamper pole, aka the scariest thing I’ve ever done! The pamper pole is this 32ft pole you climb up, stand on top of, and then jump off. You don’t fall straight to ground when you jump, you are lowered down by the people belaying you, but still you have to jump off the thing! Once I got to the top it was really hard to stand up, there were several times I wanted to give up, but I didn’t and I made it there.” Sam at Space Camp with Girl Scout Destinations

“My Gold Award project has helped me to develop practical skills that I use every day, and the experience has shaped me into who I am today.” Hadiya, GSUSA National Young Woman of Distinction

Want your girls to conquer their fears, get a little muddy, and take charge? Of course you do, and that’s why you (and nearly 50 million women in the US) believe in Girl Scouts!

The Six Girls You’ll Meet In Every Troop!

This Thanksgiving we’re thankful for GIRLS! Be they confident or shy, contrary or cooperative, your girls are all wonderful and unique. They each bring something special to your troop and, most days, you wouldn’t trade them for another girl in the whole world. With all of their differences, girls share some common roles in our troops that don’t make it onto the kaper chart but do add to the amazing crazy quilt of personalities that is a Girl Scout troop.  In celebration of that, here are the six girls you’ll meet in every Girl Scout troop. Any sound familiar?

1. The Contrarian: this girl will always zig when the others zag. She loves advocating for the opposing view point during any troop debate, vote, or discussion and counts her ability to march to the beat of her own drum as a badge of honor. 
2. The Know-it-All: is the troop learning a new skill or working on a badge? You can count on this girl to have already mastered that skill and be a total expert. Everyone please stand back and let her show you how it’s done!
3. The Dramatic One: she can cover the entire gamut of emotions (from excitement to despair) in the space of one meeting and ensures you never have a dull trip. Her natural ability to emote makes her a crowd favorite in any skit your girls plan. 
4. The Girl Scout Master: she’s the girl who’s always appropriately attired in her vest/sash. She knows every scout song and game, and is on a first name basis with every returning counselor at camp. You’ve never checked but you secretly suspect she even bleeds Girl Scout green. 
5. The Serious Competitor: this girl adores all forms of competition and has a major dislike for any activity where the troop is working together to accomplish a goal.  Those “everybody’s a winner” games are just not her cup of tea.   
6. The Excited One: she sings every song at the top of her lungs, thinks every idea is worthy of an excited shout witn a victory dance around the room, and declares every meeting/activity/trip “the BEST EVER”! Living life to the fullest is her motto and you just wish you had a tenth of her energy!

What do you think of our list? Do you recognize these girls? No matter where they fit in your troop or what role they play, your girls are one more reason to be thankful this Thanksgiving. Thanks to their quirky habits and amazing selves, Girl Scout volunteers can truly say we’re changing the world one girl at at time!