1. BY: LAUREN CHRISTENSEN Girl Scouts of America

2. Mission Girl Scouting builds girls of courage, confidence, and character who make the world a better place. Girls discover the fun, friendship, and power of girls together.

3. Activities Girl Scouts learn to improve their character through enriching experiences such as:  Field trips  Sports skill-building clinics  Community service projects  Cultural exchanges  Environmental stewardships

4. History Founder Juliette Gordon Low organized the first Girl Scout troop on March 12, 1912 in Savannah, GA. Girl Scouts of the USA was charted by the U.S. Congress on March 16, 1950.

5. Girl Scouts Today Today there are troops in 92 different countries. There are currently 3.2 million Girl Scouts and 880,000 adult volunteers. Fifty million women in America today were once Girl Scouts.

6. Fair Play Fair Play is a program that Girl Scouts of America has partnered with in the Department of Education in order to emphasize education. Fair Play introduces girls to the sciences, different technologies, and math. This is an excellent way to collaborate between schools and Girl Scouts.

7. Community Partners Girl Scouts of America is partnered with various government agencies including:  National Science Foundation  Department of Education  Department of Homeland Security  Department of Justice  Department of Agriculture

8. Issues These are the issues that Girl Scouts of America are making a point to educate girls about. These issues need to be discussed in school settings as well. It would be incredibly beneficial for schools to collaborate with this program and tackle these issues together. Civic Engagement and Volunteering Education Physical and Mental Health Safety Sexual Activity and Pregnancy Sports and Physical Activity Tobacco Use and Substance Abuse Violence

9. Benefits of Collaboration The benefits are endless when a school partners with a foundation like this. The Girl Scouts emphasis on education makes collaboration easy.

10. Boy Scouts In addition to Girl Scouts of America, there is a program for boys as well. I chose to focus on girls because I see a huge area for improvement in societal expectations of girls. Young men can join the Cub Scouts and have many of the same benefits as girls have in Girl Scouts.

11. Questions I would like to know the best way to go about initiating a collaboration between such a large and well known organization, and a school. I am curious to see how many schools are directly connected to the Girl Scouts or Boy Scouts of America.

12. “THE WORK OF TODAY IS THE HISTORY OF TOMORROW, AND WE ARE ITS MAKERS.” - Julliette Gordon-Low (Founder)

13. REFERENCES Boy Scouts of America. (2012). Retrieved on February 8, 2012 from http://www.scouting.org/.http://www.scouting.org/ Girl Scouts of America. (2012). Retrieved on February 8, 2012 from http://www.girlscouts.org/http://www.girlscouts.org/