December 2021 Our Promise

Making Their Voices Heard We are girls of courage, confidence and character, who make the world a better place. And that “make the world a better place” part? That’s about civic engagement, and it gets at the very heart of what it means to be a Girl Scout.

The Girl Scout Promise and Law best encapsulates the importance of a girl’s commitment to making the world a better place. As early as 1913 with the publication of the first Girl Scout Handbook, How Girl Scouts Can Help Their Country , Girl Scouts have explored the concepts of civics and citizenship in times of peace as well as critical crisis. Their responses have always been to contribute to the improvement of conditions with their time, talent, and treasure. The Girl Scout Leadership Experience and the progressive badgework opportunities that accompany it propel girls into the arena of civic awareness; girls who have diverse perspectives and unique approaches to changemaking. One way that Girl Scouts allow their civic pride to shine is in the execution of their Gold Award community service projects. While the subject of each individual project varies, all are focused on education, advocacy and developing systems of improvement for different audiences. The 2021 Gold Award Dessert First scholarship recipient, Shruti Panda, for example, developed an advocacy skills workshop that instructs her peers, and anyone else interested, in ways to raise one’s voice around issues of personal, community-wide, and global concern by writing letters/placing phone calls to congressional leaders, lobbying the aides in those offices, and writing letters to the editors of newspapers and magazines around issues that demand change. With more than 57,000 badges earned by eastern Missouri Girl Scouts in the past year, civic engagement badges form the foundation that helps girls grow as Girl Scouts and leaders. It is no coincidence that a majority of current female political leaders (Hillary Clinton, Condoleeza Rice, Madeleine Albright), 69% of female US senators, 57% of US Representatives, and 5 of the 9 current female governors are all Girl Scout alums.

This fall, Live from Girl Scouts presented by World Wide Technology has, to date, addressed the importance of civic action through programs such as Democracy for Juniors, Behind the Ballot and Public Policy, empowering Girl Scouts time and again to use their voices to affect the change they want to see in the world. Now in its 3rd season, Live from Girl Scouts continues to offer Girl Scouts leadership and growth mindset development in a fun, flexible and informal environment featuring in- person and virtual experiences that support youth-driven exploration and learning.