Girl Scouts celebrate 100 years of leadership and service

With all the focus that’s been placed on reproductive rights in this year’s presidential race, it seems fitting that the Girl Scouts of America have dubbed 2012 the “Year of the Girl.”

However, the little girls you bought your Thin Mints from aren’t trying to champion women’s rights with their defining tagline — at least not yet. Instead, they’re using it as a slogan for the 100th anniversary of Girl Scouts, an organization that focuses on empowering women and girls and teaching them values such as compassion, character and citizenship.

The festivities started earlier this month and have ranged from small group celebrations to the ringing of the NASDAQ bell and the founding of a small park. On Monday, Michelle Obama helped Troop 60325 earn their Bronze Awards by allowing them to assist in the fourth annual Kitchen Garden spring planting at the White House.

March 12 marked the official anniversary of the first troop meeting held by founder Juliette Gordon Low in Savannah, Ga., in 1912. She envisioned an organization that would pull girls out of the home and push them into the community, and it did. Within months, girls were wearing their iconic uniforms, camping and assisting in service projects across the country. Since then, the organization has fought segregation, created a national environmental program and developed eight types of addictive cookies.

An organization run for women by women is becoming more and more important as women struggle to gain complete equality in today’s society. A lot can be learned from the Girl Scouts, which believes in a law that requires girls to, “respect (themselves) and others,” and “use resources wisely.”

As a 14-year Girl Scout veteran, I still follow the organization’s motto, “be prepared,” every day. Admittedly, I did despise camping and still have a deep hatred for Samoas, but now I value the time I spent as a Daisy, Brownie, Junior, Cadette and Senior and accredit a lot of my skills to the principles of leadership that I learned during my time as a Girl Scout.

So hooray for the Girl Scout centennial! A celebration that couldn’t have come at a better time in women’s history. If you have any interest in participating in any of the anniversary festivities, you can visit the GSUSA website for local and upcoming events.

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A lot can be learned from the Girl Scouts, which believes in a law that requires girls to, “respect (themselves) and others,” and “use resources wisely.”