Sangamon Sun

The Girl Scouts organization, best known for its cookie sales, is an organization rooted in character, courage, and confidence to teach young girls leadership skills. Before its creation in 1912, organizations geared towards teaching young girls about anything other than the usual gendered norms was unheard of and discouraged. Juliette Gordon Low, a Savannah, Georgia native, sought to change that.

In 1911, while living in the United Kingdom, Low ran into Sir Robert Baden-Powell, a retired English General, at a party. Baden-Powell had created scouting in the U.K., and his sister, Agnes, headed a counterpart, known as Girl Guides. In meeting Baden-Powell, Low became inspired to establish a girl guides organization of her own back in Georgia. To get a good handle of what the group achieved for young girls, Low volunteered with Baden-Powell’s sister in her Girl Guides group. While volunteering, Low taught them about knot-tying, how to read a map, first aid principles, and the basics of cooking. After her summer with the Girl Guides, Low felt she had a good idea of what her organization would look like.

"Unlike other organizations like the Camp Fire Girls, Low promoted gender-neutral activities, as she enjoyed athletics and nature, as well as the arts."

Once back in Savannah, Low called her cousin, Nina Pape, to announce her grand idea. Pape, a teacher in the Savannah area, was elated with the idea and joined Low in recruiting girls for the first-ever Girl Guides troop in the United States. Using her network, Low was able to quickly recruit 18 girls to join the American Girl Guides. After the girls were recruited, she utilized her resources once more and built up a media presence and funds to help the organization.

"As of today, the Girl Scouts of the USA sell approximately 200 million boxes of cookies every year."

"As the Girl Scouts of the USA grew, service opportunities arose. To raise money, girl scouts began baking cookies and selling them to make money for each troop."

"Not only did Low want to foster healthy relationships among young girls and boys with the creation of the Girl Scouts of the USA, but she also wanted to break barriers with girls of different races and cultures."

"To date, the Girl Scouts have troops in 92 different countries and have 1.7 million Girl Scouts and 750,000 adults in the organization."

"Cookie sales not only contributed to the size of the organization today but were also implemented to teach the girl scouts five essential skills of goal setting, decision making, money management, business ethics, and people skills."

"For the 2024 selling season, the list of Girl Scout cookies for sale are available on the Girl Scout homepage. The Girl Scouts rotate flavors with fluctuating popularity."

In conclusion, the Girl Scouts of the USA, founded by Juliette Gordon Low, have grown to become a global organization empowering young girls and teaching them essential life skills through activities like cookie sales. With a rich history of promoting inclusivity and leadership, the Girl Scouts continue to impact millions of lives worldwide.