Why March, 12

The History of Girl Scout Day

Girl Scouts came into existence in 1912, when a woman named Juliette “Daisy” Gordon Low organized the first ever Girl Scout meeting in Savannah, Georgia, with just 18 girls from the surrounding area. Low had spend considerable time thinking about what could be done to help young women get outdoors and become more independent, self-reliant and resourceful so they could become better citizens in the future. From the very beginning, the Girl Scouts have been an organization run by women, for women, and over a hundred years after its creation, it has grown to 3.7 million members worldwide. It has been estimated that, since its inception, 50 million girls and women have been member of the organization. Membership is organized by age, and there are different activities available at each level, all suited to the individual needs of each age group. The Girl Scouts is an organization for American girls and American girls living abroad, traditionally ages 5 to 18. Girl Scouts typically meet in groups called a troop, with the troops being run by volunteers, who are often parents of troop members. This makes the Girl Scouts a very close-knit organization.

Girl Scout Day is celebrated on the date that Low organized the first Girl Scout meeting, on March 12th.

How to Celebrate Girl Scout Day

Girl Scout Day is the perfect day to pay homage to all that Juliette Gordon Low did for millions of girls the world over. Seeing as how Low’s goal was to help girls become more independent, this is the perfect day to take the opportunity to teach an important little girl you know something important and useful, something that will help her become less reliant on others and have more confidence in herself, her skills and abilities. If you live near a forest, it could be a good idea to teach her something about how to survive in the forest should she ever get lost. How to build a basic bonfire, or instance, or some basic form of shelter, to prevent her from getting too cold. You could also teach her about which berries and mushrooms are edible, and which should not even be touched, let alone eaten.

If you don’t have any such place nearby, but live instead in a city, this could be a good time to teach her the basics of first aid, f she doesn’t already know them—how to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation, how to bandage cuts, what to do if a person is unconscious, etc. Even a short lesson in first aid could allow this little girl to one day save someone’s life. And, if that is not an option either, how about doing both yourself and the Girl Scouts a favor and buying some of their cookies? You’ll have something tasty to nibble on with your morning coffee, and they’ll have more funds to keep on educating and empowering little girls and young women. A win-win situation, if there ever was one.