Dear Girl Scout members and friends,
Our Mission is
simple yet complex: Girl Scouts
builds girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the
world a better place. As we look to the future, I am asking each
of you to join with me in exhibiting the Girl Scout courage,
confidence, and character of which we are so proud, to dispel rumors
and myths that are swirling in our communities.
Recently,
the Boy Scouts of America made the decision to allow girls to join
their organization. Just last week, the Boy Scouts also decided to
change their name to remove the word "Boy" from their
century old program. These decisions and their use of the word
"Scouts" to identify their members has caused significant
confusion in the media and within our communities.
To
counter this confusion, we need you to share the amazing successes
of our Girl Scout program. Communities across this council have
Town Facebook pages, Front Porch Forums, and Patches. Many of you use
social media, such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest, or
Snapchat. Share your pictures and stories about Girl Scouts and their
amazing Take Action Projects. Thank our Girl Scout volunteers for
their dedication to our girls. Join our "G-Team" - a group
of girls and adults willing to participate in public presentations and
media interviews about Girl Scouting. Follow us online and share our
posts, and tag our council @GSGWM. Join the LinkedIn Girl Scout Network Alumnae
Group and our LinkedIn council page to stay
connected and involved.
I would like to take this moment
to address some of the myths and rumors:
- YES - the Girl Scout Gold Award is a prestigious award worthy of recognition and respect.
- NO - Girl Scouts of the USA is not merging with Boy Scouts of America.
- YES - Girl Scouts of the Green and White Mountains is experiencing membership growth (for the third year in a row!).
- NO - Boy Scouts of America is not taking over the Girl Scouts organization in anyway.
- YES - girls in Girl Scouting do camp, hike, and take part in high adventure programs.
- NO - girls in Boy Scouting will not be selling Girl Scout cookies.
- YES - Girl Scouts is remaining a single gender organization dedicated to girls.
- NO - Girl Scouts is not developing programming for girls in Boy Scouts.
- YES - Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts are very different programs both dedicated to youth development.
- NO - Girl Scouts is not in dire financial straits.
- YES - Girl Scouts needs your voice!
Please speak out with courage as to our purpose and Mission. Be
prepared to be a myth buster, an advocate, and an educator. Do not be
shy - let your voice be heard. Recognize the value of the Girl Scout
brand and protect it from misuse. If you hear something that sounds
"not quite right," or you see our brand used
inappropriately, please let us know. The importance of such vigilance
cannot be overstated.
Since 1912, Girl Scouts has been
dedicated solely to girls. I hope you will join me, with courage,
confidence and character, to make the case for Girl Scouts and the
girls we serve.
Sincerely,
Patricia K. Mellor
Chief Executive Officer
Gold Award Girl Scout
