Inspire Tomorrow's Leaders, Join Girl Scouts

A question I'm often asked is "What do girls gain through their participation in Girl Scouts?"

This question brings back memories of when I was a young Girl Scout. I've been a Girl Scout since I was seven years old. Every Tuesday afternoon, I couldn't wait until school was over and I could go to my Girl Scout meeting to see what fun thing we were trying next. It might have been planting an egg carton garden as a Girl Scout Brownie or planning a camping trip and having my first s'more as a Girl Scout Junior, or volunteering in the hospital as a nurse's aide as a Girl Scout Senior -- it was a wonderful adventure lead by amazing troop leaders. As I grew older, I knew I wanted to help girls have the same great Girl Scout experiences that I did.

So what do girls gain when they join Girl Scouts? Girls gain courage to try new adventures. Girls become confident in their abilities to lead. Girls develop character and give back to their communities. Girls discover new skills and learn about the outdoors. Girls develop friendships and make memories that will last a lifetime.

At Girl Scouts of the Missouri Heartland, we serve just over 16,000 girls and 5,000 adults across 68 counties in central and southern Missouri, southeast Kansas, and northeast Oklahoma. We want to reach more girls than ever before, but in order to do that, we need more volunteers.

Girl Scouts provides a wide range of amazing opportunities for girls and for adult volunteers. Recent Girl Scout research shows that 94 percent of Girl Scout volunteers and 97 percent of girl members believe Girl Scouts provides them with new, fun and exciting experiences.

I hope you will join me in making those fun, exciting Girl Scout opportunities available to girls in your community. Let's provide more opportunities for more girls to explore, discover, and give back. To join or volunteer, please visit: www.girlscouts.org/join or call 877-312-4764.