Who We Are
We’re 2.7 million strong—1.9 million girls and 800,000 adult volunteerswho believe girls can change the world. It began over 100 years ago with one woman, Girl Scouts’ founder Juliette Gordon “Daisy” Low, who believed in the power of every girl. She organized the first Girl Scout troop onMarch 12, 1912, inSavannah,Georgia, and every year since, we'vemade her vision a reality,helping girlsdiscover their strengths, passions,and talents.
Today, as yesterday, we continue the Girl Scout mission of building girls of courage, confidence, and character who make the world a better place. We’re the preeminent leadership development organization for girls. And with programs for girls from coast to coast and across the globe, Girl Scouts offers every girl a chance to do something amazing.
Our Mission
Girl Scouting builds girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place.
Girl Scout Promise
On my honor, I will try:
To serve God and my country,
To help people at all times,
And to live by the Girl Scout Law.
Girl Scout Law
I will do my best to be
honest and fair,
friendly and helpful,
considerate and caring,
courageous and strong, and
responsible for what I say and do,
and to
respect myself and others,
respect authority,
use resources wisely,
make the world a better place, and
be a sister to every Girl Scout.
Our Program
At Girl Scouts, you’re going to have tons of fun, make new friends, and go on fantastic new adventures.
You’re also going to getthe chance to do big things. Our program centers on something called the Girl Scout Leadership Experience—a collection of activities and experiences you’ll have as you earn badges, sell cookies, go on exciting trips, explore the outdoors, do Take Action projects that make a difference, and more.
Put simply, in Girl Scouts you will:
Discover.
You’ll find out who you are, what you care about, and whatyour talents are.
Connect.
Collaborate with other people, locally and globally, to make a difference in the world.
Take Action.
Dosomething to make the world a better place.
With Girl Scouts, you’ll do more than you ever thought you could, dream bigger dreams than you ever imagined, and — oh, yeah — change the world. Bet you didn’t think rock climbing or selling cookies would help you do all that, did you?
Grade Levels
Any girl in grades K–12 can join the fun at Girl Scouts. Whether you want to be part of atroop, sign up for excitingseriesor events, explore theoutdoors, ortravelthe world, each age level has something for you.
Girls are placed in the appropriate grade level according to what grade they’re in at school, as shown above.
What Daisies Do
Don’t we all wish we could look at the world through a Girl Scout Daisy’s eyes? Everything they do—fromplanting a gardentoputting on a skitto proudly adding that first petal to their vest—sparkles with that "first time ever" newness! Along the way, they’ll use their Daisy exuberance tohelp others—and they’ll never forget how that feels. Every Daisy meeting is anadventure filled with giggles, energy, and excitement.
As a Daisy, she might:
Gain new friends as part of atroop
Earn petals (the special Daisy version of badges earned by older Girl Scouts) as she embraces theGirl Scout Promise and Law
Make a difference in her community through a LeadershipJourney
Sellcookies(and have fun doing it)
Explore nature and theoutdoors
What Brownies Do
Girl Scout Brownies are ready totake on the world, and Girl Scouting lets them do just that! They want to learn new things and show off what they know. They want toexplore the worldandmeet new people. And they want todo something bigthat makes them feel great!
They get to do all these things and more in Girl Scouts: take that first hike in the great outdoors; visit a science museum; band together as a mighty Brownie team to sell cookies—and use some of the money to help others. Life is good when you’re a Brownie!
As a Brownie, she might:
Expand her circle of friends in atroop
Have fun learning all kinds of new skills as she earnsbadges
Do a project that makes a difference in her community (and beyond) as part of a Girl Scout LeadershipJourney
Bond with her friends as she sellscookies
Explore nature and theoutdoors
What Juniors Do
Want to meet areal-life Supergirl?Just talk to a Girl Scout Junior who wakes up every day ready to play a new role.
Juniors are explorers when they go camping for the first time. They're CEOs when they market and sell cookies. They're scientists when they do energy audits and go on nature walks. And they're product designers and writers when they earn their Innovation and Storytelling badges. Not to mention change makers,big-idea thinkers, andfuture leaders. Supergirl, indeed!
As a Junior, she might:
Share stories (and smiles) with new friends in hertroop
Try new experiences and learn new skills as she earnsbadges
Sellcookies(and have fun doing it)
Explore the outdoors atcampand beyond
Choose an issue she cares about, then do something to make a difference as part of a Girl Scout LeadershipJourney
Earn herBronze Award, the first of Girl Scouts' highest awards
What Cadettes Do
Makingtrue-blue friends, saving the planet, standing up against stereotypes, using their team power for the greater good—that’s what being a Girl Scout Cadetteis all about.
Cadettesblaze new trailsin the wilderness, write and direct their own movies, take the stage for public speaking, make delicious meals from around the world, and pick up tools to do some woodworking. Theircuriosity and imaginationlead the way as they try all kinds of new experiences.
As a Cadette, she might:
Choose an issue she cares about, then do something to make a difference as part of a Girl Scout LeadershipJourney
Earn herSilver Award, the highest award a Cadette can earn
Getoutdoorsand off the beaten trail
Try out new experiences (and learn new skills) as she earnsbadges
Gain confidence as she mentors younger Girl Scouts (and earns her Leadership in Action award in the process)
What Seniors and Ambassadors Do
Girl Scout Seniors and Ambassadors are ready totake the world by storm—and Girl Scouts will give them millions of ways to do it.
They cantravelto amazing places like Costa Rica, Japan, or India;explore exciting careersin a variety of fields, from science to the arts to education to government; take on big projects and help others in a big way. And, of course, they canearn their Gold Award,which (by the way) adds that “little something extra” to their college applications. Seniors and Ambassadors are eager tospread their wings—and Girl Scouts helps them take flight.
Interested in earning your Gold Award? You’ll be in great company. Check out someGold Awardprojects and find out how to join the club.
Ways To Participate
There are tons of ways to have fun and explore the world in Girl Scouts. It all depends on what you’re interested in. Take a look!
You canjoin a troop
You canget outdoorsorgo to camp
You cantravel the country—maybe even the world
You canexplore your intereststhrough series and events
You cansell Girl Scout Cookies(and have fun doing it)
Learn more aboutwhat Girl Scouts do by age.
Camp and Outdoors
You live in a world of screens—smartphone! laptop! TV! tablet!—and sometimes you just want toget away from it all. We get it. That’s why you can focus your whole Girl Scout experience on getting outdoors.
You’ll develop the kind of outdoor skills it’s hard to get anywhere else. Skills like building a campfire, pitching a tent, orcanoeingacross a lake.
Hey, how about adding somehorseback riding, rock climbing, andarcheryto the mix? Round things out with a ropes course, some zip lining, and maybe a week-long back-country trek, and you’ll find out how much fun it can be tounplug and explorethe world around you.
Series
We know you’ve got a lot going on—soccer practice, band rehearsals, drama club meetings and, oh yeah, that little thing called school. It all keeps you super busy, 24/7.
So we came up with a way for you tocreate your own Girl Scout experience, one that fits your interests and your schedule.
Just sign up for short series and one-time events on all kinds of topics. You might want tomake a robot, learn a new fitness routine, attend an engineering expo, join a canoe-racing team, polish your anime and manga skills,become a jump-rope master, develop a plan to pay for college, learn how to work on cars, meet college students who can give you the inside scoop on what to expect when you arrive on campus,explore cool careers, and get your hands floury in a cupcake baking workshop… well, you get the idea!
There aretons of fun things to doin Girl Scouts—and now it’s easier than ever to work them into your super-charged life.
Be a Friend First
When girls are mean, you often don’t see anything at all. But you can feel it. The cliques. The eye rolling. The taunting. The rumors.
It may not look like it, but it’s still bullying. Right now, when girls are bullied, almost no one intervenes.
It’s time to be part of the change. Sometimes, when girls stand up for one another, the bullying stops immediately. Like, within 10 seconds! BFF (Be a Friend First) gives you the tools you can use to feel safe at school, online, and everywhere in between.
BFF teaches middle school girls to recognize bullying. To resolve conflicts. To boost confidence. To deal with mean girls and cliques. To be a better friend. Tohavebetter friends. To find the right words to stop bullying—once and for all.
Imagine Your STEM Future
Would you like to someday work in an ocean-side lab finding new ways to turn waves into clean energy?Or create an alternative universe that can show people how to treat the planet better? Or design a new public park in an old, unused space?
Then check out a series that shows you where a science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) career can take you!
Imagine having a career that lets you be creative, active, and well paid,andempowers you to make the world a better place.
Learn about this and more in Imagine Your STEM Future, a career-and leadership-development series for high school girls.
Troops
Join a troop and you’ll always have something to look forward to! You’ll get together with your friends to play games and sing songs; go on field trips to museums and nature centers; and explore the outdoors.
Earn badges as you learn to do all kinds of fun things—like paint pictures, camp out, make jewelry, go geocaching, create inventions, conduct science experiments, plant gardens, and oh, so much more.
Whether you get together once a week or once a month, you’ll find yourself counting the days until your troop meeting starts—and the fun continues!
Travel
Girl Scouts love to travel—from thefield tripsthey take as Brownies to theglobal adventuresthey go on as teens. If you love exploring different places and cultures, then Girl Scouts is the place for you.
You can experience all that our country has to offer, whether you’re “blasting off” atSpace Campin Alabama, taking in aBroadway showin New York City, or visiting the birthplace of Girl Scouts’ founder, Juliette Gordon Low, in Savannah, Georgia. And you can plan even biggeradventures around the world, traveling with other Girl Scouts who share your love of adventure.
Check outGirl Scout Destinations, the ultimate adventure program for girls ages 11 and older. With a ton of different trips to apply for every year—fromsurfingcamp on the east coast and breathtakinghikesout west, to the crazy-cool wonder of newcultures abroad—there’s something amazing for everyone to experience.
Make friends from all over the country as you travel with Girl Scouts from different states, see and learn new things, andpack your bagsfull of inspiring, life-changing experiences and memories.Find your trip today!
Where can you go? Places like China, Costa Rica, Switzerland, Patagonia, Peru, Scotland, Germany, Mexico, and more!
How far will your Girl Scout experience take you? That’s up to you!
Journeys
We know you want to make a difference in the world—and have fun doing it. You’ll be able to do just that when you go on a Girl Scout Journey.
You’ll team up with friends to:
Identify a problem you want to do something about
Come up with a creative solution
Create a team plan to make that solution a reality
Put your plan into action
Talk about what you learned—and what you can’t wait to do next!
There are three series of Journeys to choose from at every grade level:
It’s Your Story—Tell It!
It’s Your Planet—Love It!
It’s Your World—Change It!
You’ll pick the Journey topic that interests you most, whether it’scaring for animals, helping others get healthy and fit, spreading kindness, saving the planet,taking a stand for girls, creating community—or any other issue that’s really important to you.
As you go on your Journey, you’llearn awardsto put on your uniform. They’ll let others know about the awesome things you’ve done—and remind you of what you accomplished and the fun you had along the way.
For more about the Girl Scout Journeys, visitGirl Scouts of the USA’s Journey page.
Badges
What’s that? You’ve always wanted to…
Make your own movie, cook food from a different country, go geocaching,sleep under the stars, write a book of short stories, plant a garden?
Invent something new, paint a masterpiece, star in a play, take amazing nature photographs, make your bedroom into a jungle,run a business, go on an adventure trip?
Become an awesome babysitter, sew yourself a dress, build a wooden bench, learn to play a musical instrument, ordesign a website?
Great news! You can learn to do all these things and earn Girl Scout badges as you go.
Want to earn a badge by learning something else entirely? We’ve got you covered with ourMake Your Own badgeoption. Just figure out what you want to learn and who can help you, then go online to create a badge of your own design.
Read moreabout badges andThe Girl’s Guide to Girl Scouting.
Highest Awards
Bronze. Silver. Gold.These represent the highest honors a Girl Scout can earn.
All three awards give you the chance to do big things while working on anissue you care about. Whether you want toplant a community gardenat your school and inspire others to eat healthily for yourBronze,advocate for animal rightsfor yourSilver, orbuild a career networkthat encourages girls to become scientists and engineers for yourGold, you’ll inspire others (and yourself).
Also a given: as you earn one of Girl Scouting’s highest awards, you’ll change yourcorner of the world—and maybe even beyond. The possibilities are endless.
Want to see what others have done to earn their award? For inspiration, check out examples of Bronze, Silver, and Gold Award projects viaGirl Scouts of the USA’s Map It: Girls Changing the World.
Bronze Award
Welcome to the Girl Scout Bronze Award, the highest honor a Girl Scout Junior can achieve. As you and your team plan and complete your project, you'll meet new people and have the kind of fun that happens when you work with other Girl Scouts to make a difference. Download theBronze Award guidelinesto find out how.
Download the
Bronze Award guidelines
You can pursue your Girl Scout Bronze Award if:
You're in fourth or fifth grade (or equivalent)
You're a registered Girl Scout Junior
You have completed a Junior Journey
Girl Scout Bronze Award Steps
Build your Girl Scout Junior team
Explore your community
Choose your Bronze Award project
Make a plan
Put your plan in motion
Spread the word
Silver Award
Have you ever looked around your neighborhood or school and wondered how you could make a change for the better? Going for the Girl Scout Silver Award—the highest award a Girl Scout Cadette can earn—gives you the chance to do big things and make your community better in the process. Download theSilver Award guidelinesto find out how.