To the Editor:

I have been a Girl Scout for eleven years and have had the most fun and have created some of the best memories of my life through scouting. I have had more opportunities as a Girl Scout than I would ever have imagined.

I have camped a lot, earned badges and sold delicious Girl Scout Cookies, of course, but Girl Scouts is so much more than those activities. I have been caving and sailing, met the governor of New York, given speeches in front of two hundred people, and impacted my community through service projects of my own design.

Most recently, I have had the opportunity to work with ten other girls from across the country on a committee to impact the future of the National Girl Scout movement. We met for months online and then gathered at the end of the school year at a retreat to finalize our recommendations to Girl Scouts USA. It gave me valuable experience about working on a team and representing large groups.

Girl Scouts is FUN! It gives me a chance to do things with my hands, like electrical engineering experiments, leatherworking, windsurfing, and cooking over a fire. Sometimes it is serious, like when we perform at nursing homes, but we have plenty of fun, like when we make s’mores together and sing around the campfire. When I look around my community, most of the girls that lead are those that I have met through scouting.

Girl Scouts are impressive, well-rounded, and undisputed leaders in our communities. Whether we are running camporees to share our skills with younger girls, selling cookies to fund important community projects, or serving on a board to the CEO of our council, we all make up an exceptional group of future leaders. With great opportunities like these, I hope every girl gets to be a Girl Scout!

To join or volunteer, please visit: www.girlscouts.org/join.

McGinnis Miller

Girl Scouts with the Girl Scouts of NYPENN Pathways, Inc.