03/12/2026
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Happy ! in 1912, Juliette Gordon Low founded the first Girl Guides troop in America, which later became known as the Girl Scouts.
The first Girl Guides troop in America was founded in Low's hometown of Savannah, Georgia, and consisted of her relatives and girls from other established families in the town. By the summer of 1912, the Savannah Girl Guides troop was divided into smaller units of girls called “patrols.” Each patrol was named after a flower, and they met on different days of the week. The girls learned a wide variety of skills, including map reading, first aid, cooking, knot tying, and played sports such as basketball. Low also adopted the British Girl Guides’ system of awarding badges to girls who became proficient in skills.
In 1913, the Girl Guides name was changed, officially becoming the Girl Scouts. That same year Low created the first national headquarters in Washington, D.C. to promote the Girl Scouts nationwide. To aid in the recruiting process, the first American Girl Scout handbook, How Girls Can Help Their Country, was published in the summer of 1913. A year later, ten Girl Scout troops registered in Washington D.C and eight Girl Scout troops registered in Chicago.
During World War I, Low encouraged the Girl Scouts to participate in the war effort by running soup kitchens, creating care packages for soldiers, and harvesting crops. In partnership with the American Red Cross, the Girl Scouts sold white flags to raise funds for the war relief. The troops that participated in war effort came from Boston, Washington, New York, Chicago, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Savannah, Newark, Cleveland, Richmond, Cincinnati, Saint Louis, Atlanta, Detroit, San Francisco, Saint Paul, and New Orleans, reflecting Low’s impact in spreading the Girl Scouts in America.
Today, the Girl Scouts organization is thriving around the world. As of 2017, there are over three million members, and over fifty million total members since its founding in 1912. The organization is self-sufficient due to its many patrons and yearly cookie sales to raise funds.
