RALEIGH — It’s never too late to be a Girl Scout.

As the largest girl-led organization in the world, Girls Scouts has provided transformative leadership development programs for girls for more than a century. Whether harvesting community gardens for food banks, initiating programs to combat bullying in schools, cleaning up local parks for future generations, or using their STEM skills to assist people with disabilities, Girl Scouts activate their inner G.I.R.L. — Go-getter, Innovator, Risk-taker, Leader — and make a demonstrable difference in the world. With troops forming in Robeson County, now is the perfect time to invite more girls to join in on all the fun, excitement, and adventure that comes with Girl Scouting.

For girls in grades kindergarten through five, the Girl Scout Leadership experience focuses on discovering new interests, making new friends, learning to define what leadership means to each girl, and building confidence as they learn important life skills. Girls will experience a wide variety of experiences and programming spanning healthy living, outdoors and camp, science, technology, engineering, and math, stewardship and citizenship, financial literacy, and much more. Along the way, these young female leaders will help others while becoming big thinkers, ground-breakers, and role models for their peers, future Girl Scouts and society.

“Girl Scouts gets you out of your comfort zone and you get an opportunity to try new things,” said Jorja Smith, a 6-year old girl scout.

But Girl Scouts isn’t just for young girls. When girls participate in Girl Scouts in middle and high school they can get a head start on their future. Girls explore careers in science and technology, travel the world, discover nature, and take on projects that transform their community. Girl Scouts can leave a lasting and sustainable impact in their area when they earn their Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest honor in Girl Scouts. It is the equivalent to the Boy Scout Eagle Award. Nationally, thousands of girls earn their Gold Award each year, spending, collectively, nearly half a million hours engaged annually in Take Action projects that enhance the lives of people in their communities and beyond. Girls who “Go Gold” are also eligible for scholarships to help fund their future endeavors and career pathways.

“My favorite part of being in a Girl Scout is not only selling the cookies, but working on my business skills,” said Alysza Bigart, a 17-year-old, Girl Scout ambassador. “Another thing that I like is building more friendships, working on my leadership skills, and gaining more teamwork skills as well. Being a Girl Scout helps with life skills and has also helped me make more friends.”

And it’s not just girls that recognize their leadership development skills thanks to Girl Scouts. Volunteers and parents see the benefit of the Girl Scout Leadership Experience every day, and how their involvement makes a difference in the lives of girls.

“Girl Scouts is an amazing opportunity to be involved in the development of young girls,” said Troop Leader Amy Bohlayer. “It’s an avenue to guide, challenge, and provide experiences they wouldn’t have had outside of Girl Scouting. It’s an additional support network for girls through friendships and relationships with leaders. Girl Scouts provides so many unique opportunities from traditional outdoor activities like camping to Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) classes to career exploration.”

According to the Girl Scout Research Institute, girls find their participation in Girl Scouts to be a worthwhile experience. Eighty-four percent of girls say they learned or did new things in Girl Scouts, and 80 percent reported that in Girl Scouts they were able to do things that they could not have done in other places.

Girl Scout troops are forming now in Robeson County – claim a spot now by visiting nccoastalpines.org or calling 1-800-284-4475.

Staff Report