Girl Scouts Of America

Girl Scouts of the USA

The Girl Scouts of the United States of America (GSUSA) is a youth organization for girls in the United States, as well as girls of parents serving in military service abroad, based on the Scouting principles developed by Juliette Gordon Low. Low dreamed of giving the United States "something for all the girls." She envisioned an organization that would bring girls out of their home environments to serve in their communities and experience the open air. Girl Scouting began on March 12, 1912 when Low organized the first Girl Scout troop meeting in Savannah, Georgia. First known as the Girl Guides of America, the organization became the Girl Scouts of America in 1913. It later became the Girl Scouts of the United States of America in 1947, and was then chartered by the United States Congress on March 16, 1950. Girl Scouts started with a membership of only 18. Within months, girl members were hiking through the woods, playing basketball, and going on camping trips. Today (2006) there are over 3.7 million Girl Scouts Ð'-- 2.8 million girl members and 954,000 adult members in the United States. More than 50 million American women have enjoyed Girl Scouting during their childhood, including myself.

A recent study has shown that 85% of women in Congress were former Girl Scouts. There is a very large base of influential women in politics and business and The GSUSA is the only girls' organization chartered by Congress. The private side of this organization is the non-publicly appointed Board of Directors and the strong community involvement. There are 40 men and women that make up the Girl Scout National Board of Directors. These men and women have expertise in fields that range from technology to education and are from diverse backgrounds such as Latino, African-American, Indian-American, which is in keeping with Girl Scouting's commitment to diversity stronger than ever. Another private side of the scouting program is strong community involvement. Scouting programs are rooted in our communities Ð'- supported by parents, local churches, service organizations and business groups. Scouts are supported by local communities, and in turn, they return that support through a strong commitment to public service.

GSUSA is a congressionally chartered nonprofit organization. As for the governmental side of things, Congress has never passed a general law that is applicable to the operation and powers for nonprofits. It was then necessary for Congress to provide some provisions. They are: to sue and be sued; to