An Open Letter From Mary Vitek,

CEO of Girl Scouts of San Jacinto

Dear Houstonians and neighbors,

Girl Scouts’ legacy of helping girls and young women develop their leadership skills began more than 100 years ago, in 1912 to be exact. Our founder, Juliette Gordon Low brought girls of all backgrounds together to provide them with opportunities to build courage, confidence and character to make the world a better place. Never could she have imagined that a small troop of 18 girls would grow to millions of members and a sisterhood that is more than 50 million strong, including many extraordinary women who are fueling the female leadership pipeline in our very own community.

One of the many gifts Girl Scouting offers girls is this sisterhood for life. It provides girls and young women with friends who share experiences and explore and grow together, whether they’re going camping, attending a cybersecurity workshop or serving their community. When things aren’t going exactly as planned at school, at home or with other friends,

Girl Scouting has provided much needed and familiar comfort for girls. The importance of this supportive network has never been as evident as it has been this past year as we all navigated an uncertain world of COVID and its impact on the well-being of youth.

As our children enter the classroom for a new year of learning, their mental and physical health, as well as their long-term development, must remain our top priority. This past summer we witnessed the impact of the last 18 months as we welcomed girls to camp and noticed a significant increase in homesickness, stress and anxiety among campers. We were also comforted to see how being surrounded by other girls in a supportive environment helped girls ease into the carefree camp experience.

What we’ve witnessed these last few years is that Girl Scouting is more important than ever. Being a Girl Scout provides girls with a sense of normalcy and a safe place to make friends, have fun, and gain the critical life skills they’ve been missing out on in recent times. In addition, our one-of-a-kind leadership development program has proven results.

Every activity we offer is based on time-tested methods and research-backed programming that help girls take the lead – in their own lives and in the world. The experiences girls have in Girl Scouting are proven to cultivate values, social conscience, self-esteem, and resiliency while teaching her critical life skills that will help her into adulthood.

While we may not know how long COVID-19 and its variants will last, we do know that the window to impact a girl’s development is relatively narrow and the experiences she has now will play a pivotal role in her future. And we know that in times like these, a sense of community is more important than ever.

Girl Scouts is well prepared to offer that sense of community today and the safety and wellbeing of girls and our community will always be our top priority.

I want to stress that every girl deserves the opportunity to be a Girl Scout, regardless of a family’s circumstances. If your family is experiencing economic anxiety or hardship, please request financial aid during the registration process. Financial aid status is kept entirely confidential.

I invite every girl in Houston and our neighboring communities to join us for another amazing year of Girl Scouts. From Kindergarten Daisies to high schoolers pursuing their Gold Award, I know we’ll have an amazing year together.

Sincerely,