SACRAMENTO — To commemorate the occasion of the 109th Anniversary of the founding of the Girl Scouts of the USA, Assemblymember Boerner Horvath’s ACR 22 passed the Assembly on a consent vote.
With about 2.6 million youth and adult members, Girl Scouts of the USA is currently the largest leadership organization for young women in the world. Since founder Juliette Gordon Low brought together the first troop on March 12, 1912, millions of young women have found their passion, their voice, and their calling through scouting. Today, former girl scouts dominate the ranks of women legislators, business executives, astronauts, and creative leaders. Many of these professionals can trace the inspiration for their career paths back to their time as scouts.
“As the mother of a 10-year-old Junior Scout in Troop 1920, I’ve seen firsthand the value that scouting provides for young people as they discover themselves through childhood and adolescence,” said Assemblymember Boerner Horvath. “My daughter is going to become an adult in a world full of challenges that are going to demand a different kind of thinking from her generation. Girl Scouts provides the validation that our daughters need to see themselves as the change-makers of tomorrow, no matter where their interests lead them.”
While Girl Scouts is known by many for its wildly successful annual cookie sales, the organization also has a proud history of empowering girls to explore their interests in the areas less enforced by cultural norms — namely science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. A 2012 study conducted by the Girl Scouts Research Institute found that 74% of teen girls aged 14-17 demonstrated an interest in one or more STEM-related fields. By providing girls with opportunities to engage with their interests outside of the classroom, scouting empowers young women to pursue rewarding career paths that validate their sense of self.
ACR 22 celebrates the more than a century-long history of Girl Scouts of the USA and expresses the Legislature’s support of its mission to instill courage, confidence, and character in the youth of today.
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