License to Thrive

Girl Scouts of the USA

Girl Scouts of the USA is the world’s preeminent organization dedicated solely to girls.  Founded in 1912, there are currently 3.7 million Girl Scouts with more than 236,000 troops and groups in more than 90 countries around the world.  More than 50 million American women participated in Girl Scouting as a part of their childhood.

The Girl Scouts offer unique programs and activities to inspire, challenge and empower girls everywhere, several of them focused on the arts and media.  These programs include:

Follow the Reader: A Girl Scout Family Reading Project
In a society in which illiteracy remains a prevalent issue, the Follow the Reader bilingual family literacy series is designed to promote a love for reading among girls and their families. Designed for ages 5-11, the series content is based on the five objectives of the White House literacy initiative No Child Left Behind: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. The family-centered book are completely bilingual (English and Spanish) and offer families the opportunity to read together using the language in which they feel most comfortable.

STUDIO 2B Writer's Block
www.STUDIO 2B.org, the place for teens, is the online arm of STUDIO 2B, the way girls 11-17 participate in Girl Scouting.  The site allows girls an interactive forum to discuss topics such as style, life challenges, adventure and travel while keeping their fingers on the pulse of hot ideas and issues. 

Through the “Writer’s Block” program, girls can submit their original work to the web site for review and possible online publication. The selected poems and stories can be read by all visitors to the site and girls can discuss their work with other members of their STUDIO 2B group.

To learn more about the Girl Scouts, go to:  www.girlscouts.org