“Discover Girl Scouts” is the title of our outreach program. The program was originally designed as an after-school program delivered to local elementary, middle and high schools. In March of 2007, we formed a collaborative partnership with the city of Long Beach to deliver this program to girls directly on-site at various affordable housing communities. This enables us to serve the girls directly where they live and eliminates the need of transportation. Our goal is to provide a sustainable experience for the girls through the recruitment and training of adult volunteers to serve as their troop leaders following the completion of the initial 10-week program.  Collaborative partnership such as these, enable the Girl Scouts to better serve the young people in the under-served areas of our communities. Thus far, we have delivered this program to three sites in Long Beach and one in Signal Hill. Thanks to grant funding and the generosity of donors, the girls enrolled in this program are provided with a one-year Girl Scout membership, a Girl Scout sash, tab, and pins. We are currently engaging in conversations with some of the other cities we serve to provide this program to their housing communities. The affordable housing delivery option has not replaced our after-school program; rather it serves as an additional component of our Discover Girl Scout program.

The Discover Girl Scouts program provides girls ages 5-17 and adult volunteers the opportunity to develop qualities that will serve them all their lives, like leadership, strong values, social conscience, and conviction about their own potential and self-worth.  Reaching out to adults is an important part of a young girl’s life.  They need a network of trusted, caring adults in their lives which they may not always have in their home.  The girls will receive tools to start building a network of adults they can talk to, share ideas and get advice from. Girls will follow a set of challenges that lead them to a better awareness of who they are and what they want for themselves as they develop their self-awareness and self-confidence. As they go through this process they will discover for themselves the things they want for their future.  They will explore their potential as well as their successes.  Questions such as; what am I good at?  What am I proud of?  What do I like about myself? All will help lead the girls to a better understanding of themselves. As many will say, it takes a village to raise a child. Girl Scouts is part of the village.