Get the Facts

Accept no substitutes for your G.I.R.L.

Boy Scouts is now accepting girls. But make no mistake! Girl Scouts, the premier leadership organization for girls, has been giving girls unmatched opportunities to lead, go on adventures, and build courage, confidence, and character for more than 100 years!

Girl Scouts helps girls unleash the Go-getter, Innovator, Risk-taker, Leader (G.I.R.L) within!

Girl Scouting works!

Girl Scouts is the best leadership experience for girls in the world, period. Girls get to build leadership skills in the way they learn and grow best—in an all-girl, girl-led, and girl-friendly environment. The Girl Scout Leadership Experience (GSLE) is time-tested, research-backed and proven with 106 years of results. And new research has found that Girl Scouts shine above their peers in leadership, academics, career aspirations and hope for the future.*

*Source: Girl Scout Research Institute The Girl Scout Impact Study fact sheet

Girl Scouts is keeping the GIRL in Girl Scouting

Girl Scouts has not and will NOT merge with Boy Scouts. Girl Scouts of the USA and Boy Scouts of America are, and have always been, two separate organizations.

Girl Scouts serves girls in grades kindergarten through 12^th grade. The inclusive, girl-led, all-female environment Girl Scouts offers girls give them a safe space where they can try new things, develop a range of skills, and take on leadership roles without the distractions or pressures that can be found in a coed environment. And there are many more reasons Why Girl Scouts works for today’s girls.

Outdoor & High Adventure—Been there, doing that!

There is not one experience a girl can have at Boy Scouts that she can’t have at Girl Scouts! From hiking to swimming, camping and archery, horseback riding and hatchet throwing, Outdoor Adventure is an absolutely fundamental part of the Girl Scout experience.

GSSEM Outdoor experiences include Weekend Camps that feature themed adventures, including and art and STEM themes. Also, our Outdoor Skills Patch program gives girls opportunities to explore many outdoor skills and earn patches in everything from fire building to knot-tying and backpacking. See the list of GSSEM’s outdoor skills patches.

NEW! Girls Scouts and The North Face!
This year, Girl Scouts of the USA and The North Face launched a multi-year outdoor collaboration for girls—all part of The North Face’s Move Mountains initiative. Girls can look forward to 12 new Girl Scouts outdoor adventure badges with programming ranging from mountaineering and climbing, to backpacking, hiking and trail running.

The North Face is the world's leading outdoor brand, creating athlete-tested, expedition-proven products that help people explore and test the limits of human potential.

Girl Scouts soar with STEM

Girl Scouts can design robots and race cars, go on environmentally conscious camping trips, create algorithms, collect data in the great outdoors, try their hand at engineering, and so much more. Last year, Girl Scouts announced the rollout of 23 new STEM and Outdoor badges and Journeys, giving girls more of the STEM and outdoor experiences they want.

GSSEM’s FIRST Lego League teams give girls in kindergarten through 5^th grade the chance to explore robotics and the environment. Girls tackle a community issue like water usage in their communities, and build a robotic solution using Legos. GSSEM has a successful partnership with FIRST of Michigan, an organization dedicated to advancing the fields of STEM with Michigan students. Recently, five GSSEM teams competed at the FIRST World Championship in Detroit.

The Power of Gold: Girl Scouts' highest award

The Girl Scout Gold Award is the highest and most prestigious award in Girl Scouting. Girl Scouts who earn the Gold Award display more positive life outcomes like sense of self, life satisfaction, leadership, life success, community service, and civic engagement.

Each year, GSSEM honors southeastern Michigan Girl Scouts who have earned the Gold Award. Each of these recipients has shown leadership and taken action to find sustainable solutions to a chosen community issue.

Read about the 2018 Gold Award Girl Scouts from southeast Michigan.

Stand up for Girl Scouts

Here’s how you can help tell the Girl Scout story:

Always include “Girl” before “Scouting.” Say and type Girl Scouting or Boy Scouting. References to scouting do not differentiate between the two different programs or draw the distinction of Girl Scouting.
Do not lump Girl Scouts together with Boy Scouts. We are a standalone, proud, and single-gender organization with so much to offer.
Talk to your troop parents, neighbors and friends, and the parents in your schools and places of worship. Be clear that Girl Scouts provides advantages by giving girls a safe-space to be themselves, and build leadership skills they need now and in the future.
If you earned your Girl Scout Gold Award or any of the other highest awards, join the Girl Scout Network alumnae group on LinkedIn. Include your affiliation with Girl Scouts on your LinkedIn page, and your résumé, even if you’re not looking for a job. Make being a Girl Scout part of your narrative a about who you are. After all, once a Girl Scout, always a Girl Scout!

Learn. Grow. Explore. Girl Scouts. Join as a Daisy (K-1). Register Now