What sets Girl Scouting apart from the multitude of other youth-serving organizations?

We are a values-based organization, serving over 2.9 million girls across the country from every segment of the population. Three goals — values, leadership, and diversity — permeate every aspect of Girl Scouting in every corner of the country.

The values found in the Girl Scout Promise and Law provide an essential framework for developing character, making sound decisions, and fostering strength of conviction. By working together with their troops/groups and with their adult leaders, girls gain greater insights into coping with moral and social dilemmas.

• Seven of ten Girl Scouts surveyed say the Girl Scout Promise and Law have been useful in their lives.
• Girls who express strong commitment to the Girl Scout Promise and Law and their religious beliefs are most likely to make positive moral decisions, such as telling the truth or not cheating on a test.
• When posed with a question on a moral decision related to peer loyalty versus telling the truth, a greater proportion of Girl Scouts (43%) versus a national cross-section (25%) said they would inform school authorities about vandalism rather than lie.

Opportunities for leadership exist for all Girl Scouts--from the youngest girls making decisions in a Daisy circle to the oldest ones taking leadership roles in their local councils and the National Board of Directors.

Through a partnership with adults, girls get practice in setting and achieving goals. At each age level, girls take on increasing leadership and responsibility for their own actions.

• Most Junior (81%), Cadette (71%), and Senior (76%) Girl Scouts feel that Girl Scouting is preparing them to be "someone who can make her own choices."
• Two-thirds of Senior Girl Scouts said they very often make decisions about what goes on in their troops, whereas only 25% make decisions about what goes on in their classroom.
• Nearly three-fourths of Senior Girl Scouts (72%) say they lead the troop in an activity at least sometimes, including 34% who say they do so very often. Less than half of these Senior Girl Scouts (45%) have a similar opportunity in the classroom, with only 15% saying they have leadership opportunities very often in a school setting.
• Whereas 74% of Senior Girl Scouts feel their troop leader very often listens to what they have to say, only 42% of these girls feel their classroom teachers do the same.

Girl Scouts cannot be stereotyped. They include girls from many walks of life, such as girls who are from diverse racial, ethnic, and religious groups; who have different family arrangements; and who come from urban, suburban, and rural areas across the country. Girl Scouts serves girls from all economic backgrounds, including girls living in poverty and affluence, and those in between. The Girl Scout Promise and Law provide a moral compass for girls and teach them to respect one another and the differences that define individuals and cultures. Girls learn about and experience the diversity of our society.

• Girl Scouting was viewed by most parents from a full spectrum of racial and ethnic groups as an organization that serves ALL girls.
• Girls who are Black, Hispanic, or American Indian/Alaskan Native were especially likely to say that the Promise and Law have been very useful to them.
• Fifty-nine percent of the Girl Scouts surveyed were satisfied with their chances to lead. Girl Scouts from an Hispanic background were especially satisfied with their chances to lead, with 78% saying they were very satisfied.
• When asked to describe a "typical" Girl Scout, one young woman wrote: "There are many different Girl Scouts, I guess. There are big ones and little ones. They have different color hair and different skin tones. I like that Girl Scouting's for girls and that any culture will be able to join."

Through yearly opportunities such as workshops and guided trips girls learn a tangible set of skills as they broaden their horizons by meeting new people and overcoming new challenges.

Girl Scouting provides a wide variety of unique and innovative opportunities for girls to distinguish themselves and to define their short- and long-term goals. The projects range from day-long health fairs and teen pregnancy prevention programs to career exploration workshops to collaborations with engineers who lead Girl Scouts in constructing models of amusement park rides. Each one of these experiences prepares girls to become productive citizens in the 21st century.

Girl Scouts learn a wide range of real life skills--first aid, résumé writing, and managing money—as well as reaping benefits that are less quantifiable, including enhanced self-esteem, greater confidence in their abilities, and the strength and conviction to take the lead and excel in their endeavors. Most girls use the lessons and values they learned in Girl Scouting in their adult lives.

• Louis Harris, the well-known researcher, found that "The Girl Scouts have had a direct and powerful impact on the lives of American women." A large majority of women say Girl Scouting improved their ability to work with others. In fact, two in every three women feel that the interpersonal skills learned at an early age in the Girl Scouts had a direct payoff much later in life. They also stressed that Girl Scouting helped them with their self-confidence, moral values, interest in volunteer activities, and social conscience.
• When asked to rate activities and features of Girl Scouting, both Junior and Cadette Girl Scouts indicated that they valued trips to new places, helping others, doing something new, finding out about themselves, learning new skills, and understanding right from wrong.
• In one study, when current Girl Scouts were asked if Girl Scouting had given them ideas about what they could do when they became an adult, 88% replied with a definite "yes."

Girl Scouting stresses social responsibility and the importance of helping others. Community service is a fundamental aspect of the Girl Scout program, and girls of all ages strive to improve the quality of life in their surroundings. Girls have worked at soup kitchens and homeless shelters, led environmental projects, joined with peers to lessen violence, supported literacy and learning, improved the natural world through conservation efforts, and devoted their time to educating the young and the old through special tutoring or intergenerational projects. Girl Scouting encourages girls to become integral members of the local community and prepares them to be successful, constructive members of American society.

• After using new hands-on science materials in their troops as part of the Girl Scouts of the USA/Franklin Institute National Science Partnership linking girls and science museums, 60% of Junior Girl Scouts "liked or really liked science"; only 49% had felt that way before their involvement in the partnership.
• Forty-six percent of Girl Scouts surveyed stated that Girl Scouting helped them do something good for their community. Research by Independent Sector, an organization serving non-profits, has shown that significantly more adults who give and volunteer have been members of youth groups when young.
• As an equal employment officer states, "Girl Scouts can initiate change. They can become a positive gang in the community as they tackle tough issues."