CEO Message
A Summer for Celebration

Juliette Gordon Low couldn't have been more proud than I was to see close to 200,000 Girl Scouts on the Mall in Washington, D.C., to celebrate our 95th anniversary. The Sing-Along, organized by the Girl Scout Council of the Nation’s Capital, drew Girl Scouts of all ages from 49 states. To see such a spectacular gathering was not just a testament to the spirit of Girl Scouting. It was also a reminder of the important work councils do every day to provide opportunities to girls.

As we head into summer, the work of Girl Scouting does not stop. Councils are working harder than ever to fulfill the Girl Scout mission: to build girls of courage, confidence and character who make the world a better place.

In addition to their extensive day-to-day work, councils have spent countless hours on advisory groups, tested pilot programs, and served on Council Realignment Committees. They continue to be key in helping to conceptualize and develop our new Leadership “journeys” for girls, and at conferences around the nation, they have provided invaluable input for the creation of program resources, awards and strategies that will bring the Girl Scout Leadership Model to life.

Regarding realignment, 204 of the 280 realigning councils -- nearly 73 percent -- have completed their mergers or in the process of completing them. Councils that attended the April realignment training at Edith Macy benefited from valuable lessons learned from colleagues who had already completed the process.

In March, Girl Scouts Northeast Texas, Dallas, hosted "Getting to High Performance," a fund development best practices conference that was the largest one-time gathering of fund-raisers in Girl Scout history. Eighty participants from 62 councils shared ideas and tools to help engage board members, volunteers, and alumnae in a new and vibrant Girl Scout culture of philanthropy.  The newly formed Girl Scout Alumnae Association, which was officially launched at the Sing-Along, has the ambitious goal of identifying and cultivating the millions of women (and men) who have been involved in Girl Scouting.

Juliette Gordon Low had an abiding faith in the future—the future for girls and the future of the world. "The work of today,” she wrote, “is the history of tomorrow, and we are its makers.” In our 95th year, we can all be proud to follow Juliette's lead -- to be the makers of our future, and the transformers of our Movement. 
 

Kathy Cloninger
CEO, GSUSA