On March 12, 1912, Juliette "Daisy" Gordon Low assembled 18 girls from Savannah, Georgia, for the first Girl Scout meeting. She believed that all girls should be given the opportunity to develop physically, mentally, and spiritually. With the goal of bringing girls out of isolated home environments and into community service and the open air, Girl Scouts hiked, played basketball, went on camping trips, learned how to tell time by the stars, and studied first aid. Within a few years, Daisy's dream for a girl-centered organization was realized.
Today, Girl Scouts of the USA has a membership of over 3.4 million girls and adults - a significant growth from its modest beginnings nearly a century ago. In fact, more than 50 million women in the U.S. today are Girl Scout alumnae.
In 2012 Girl Scouts of the USA will mark 100 years of inspiring girls and young women with the ideals of courage, confidence and character. This milestone provides a unique opportunity to reflect on the tremendous contributions the organization has made over the past century, and to also rally support for the next hundred years of Girl Scouting.
Millions of active Girl Scouts, volunteers and alumnae will come together to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Girl Scouting. Will you be one of them?
Turning 100 is a monumental event deserving of a once-in-a-lifetime celebration, or in our case six once-in-a-lifetime events! Girl Scouts of the Missouri Heartland kicked off the 100th anniversary celebration in a big way with five individual events on March 31, 2012. The morning started with the first ever Believe in Girls 5K with nearly 200 participants. By mid-morning the doors opened for the Believe in Girls Expo with nearly 1,500 participants from across our council. The Expo included 75 vendors hosting activities, six 100th Anniversary cakes were voted upon with over 1,200 pieces of cake being served, hundreds of pearl necklaces were passed out to girls, $3,000 was raised for financial assistance from the silent basket auction, and thousands of memories were made!
The celebration continued into the night with an Alumnae Reception where adult Girl Scouts had the opportunity to reconnect, view historical displays, sing songs and participate in a special pinning ceremony where they received a commemorative GSMH Alumnae pin.
The 100 Fun Hundred Party for younger girls and 100 Years of Dreams Dance Party for older girls gave Girl Scouts a chance to party like rock stars. Almost 500 girls dined on hundreds of slices of pizza, decorated cupcakes, and boogied the night away in celebration.
Volunteers worked together to create a 100th Anniversary Quilt that was proudly displayed at the Believe in Girls Expo for all to see. This quilt will be a part of the basket auction during the 2013 Annual Meeting. Also, at the Expo, the 100th Anniversary Patch was debuted. The patch design was chosen from 30 designs submitted by girls across the council, with Lauren from Perryville submitting the winning design.
To honor the great history of Girl Scouts, historical displays featuring handbooks, uniforms, photos, and much more were set up council-wide in many libraries, museums and other venues.
As summer came to an end, the celebration continued with the 100th Anniversary Camporee-From Past to Present in Sedalia, MO. Over 400 girls and adults attended this old-time camping event. Weekend long activities included tent pitching, knot tying, team building games, songs and s 'mores.
Girls Scouts of the Missouri Heartland sends out thanks and appreciation to all the girls, volunteers, parents, staff, sponsors, vendors and members of the public who have taken the time to celebrate this milestone with us.
Windows to the Past
Participate in monthly activities from 1910 – 2012!
Celebrate Girl Scouting's 100th Anniversary by stepping back in time to discover how Girl Scouts used to be. Every month starting March 1, 2012, a Windows to the Past decade packet will be available in the left sidebar of this page (just click on the decade to download the packet). The decade packet will include activities for your troop to complete that took place in a ten year period.
By completing four activities in the packet, you earn a corresponding decade rocker that will stack below a "Windows to the Past" patch. The patch and rockers will be available for purchase at GSMH shops. A new decade packet will be released each month, starting with the 1910s in March. Girls may choose to earn the rocker for each decade or just work on the decades in which they are most interested. However many you choose to complete, just have fun learning about the history of Girl Scouts!
