Girl Scouts of the USA History

The first Girl Scout troop was organized in 1912 by Juliette Gordon Low in Savannah, Georgia. There were just 18 girls that took part in that first troop meeting but it was the start of a long and storied history.

It was March 12, 1912 when Juliette "Daisy" Gordon Low hosted a meeting of 18 girls in Savannah, Georgia. She thought girls deserved the opportunity to develop spiritually, mentally and physically. The thought was to bring the girls outside their homes so they could help with community service and enjoy fresh air.

The 1920s brought the right for women to vote and the Girls Scouts prospered and increased in large numbers. The 1930s brought the Depression and the Girl Scouts helped their communities by collecting clothing, carving wood toys, making quilts, collecting food, helping at local hospitals and providing food to those that were undernourished.

In the 1940s, the Girls Scouts were divided into three sections - Brownie, Intermediate and Senior. This helped divide up what was really needed at each level to increase the services the Girls Scouts could give to their members.

In the 1950s the Girl Scouts were re-incorporated under a Charter from Congress. An Ebony magazine article said the Girl Scouts were attempting to break down the racial taboos in society and Project Safe Time was introduced for the first time. It was for girls whose parents could not care for them when school let out in the afternoons.

In the new millennium everything entered a new age with the rapid advancement of technology and the Girls Scout Research Institute performed its first study - "Teens Before Their Time". The study found that pre-teens of today were maturing must faster physically and mentally than prior generations but were maturing less rapidly emotionally than in prior generations.

There were exploration and science programs,that the organization offered thanks to grants from companies like Intel, Lockheed Martin and Lucent Technologies. Girls started using the web more and there were troop meetings held online and the new century brought new badges for the girls like Adventure Sports, Global Awareness, Environmental Health and Stress Less.

NOTE: Information on this site is not guaranteed to be accurate. Some content is compiled from 3rd party sources. If you are aware of incorrect or outdated information, feel free to contact us.