  The Girl Scout Experience
It’s all about the girls! Girl Scouts is a special place where girls share fun times with friends, old and new, and the focus is always on what girls need and want. It’s the place to be, where every girl, age 5 – 17, can find a sense of belonging. Girl Scouts is a girls-only kind of place, where girls can relax and be themselves in a safe and nurturing environment. In Girl Scouts, today’s fun leads to tomorrow’s success. Through the incomparable experiences provided by Girl Scouting, girls have fun, work together, and learn that they have the ability to succeed and take the lead in whatever they choose to do. Girls can choose to participate in Girl Scouting individually or as part of a troop, depending on their personal interests and schedules. Through special partnerships between girls and caring adults, girls gain self-confidence, practical skills, strong values, and social conscience. In Girl Scouts, it’s not just what girls do, it’s also how they do it. Girls learn best by doing and experiencing, and we offer an enriching selection of fun and educational program activities and events that are age appropriate and responsive to the needs and interests of today’s busy girls. Girl Scouting also encourage social conscience and service to the community. By planning and carrying out projects that benefit their communities and other people, girls learn that they have the ability to make a difference in the world. The Girl Scout Experience, there is nothing else like it!  
Girls’ Perspective
To My Amazing Troop Leader, I wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for all you've done for me for the past 13 years. When I began Girl Scouting as a Brownie, I never dreamed that I would have accomplished so much thanks to Girl Scouts. Girl Scouting taught me that I have a commitment to my community, and that has made a lasting impact on my life. Through the Girl Scout Silver and Gold Award programs, I was able to prove my dedication and truly make my mark. I know that I will continue to uphold my community responsibilities as I begin college in the fall, and I can't wait to become a Girl Scout leader and teach younger girls to give back. The activities that we planned as a troop were always a blast! You always pushed us to plan events that we never thought possible and challenged us to reach out beyond our comfort zone. Not many people in my high school can say that they have planned an overnight event for 200 Brownie Girl Scouts and raised money themselves to take a trip to Washington D.C. The excitement I got out of planning these events and earning the money to support them has helped me decide to major in business in college! Of course, my Girl Scout experience would not be complete without camp. When I was in second grade, you helped my parents and me understand the benefits of the camp experience, and I was so excited that summer when I got to go to Girl Scout camp for the first time. That trip was just the beginning of many wonderful summers I spent at Camp Scherman – horseback riding, backpacking, rock-climbing, canoeing, eventually becoming a camp counselor myself and doing many other activities that I never would have been able to do otherwise. As a first grader, I joined Girl Scouts because it looked like fun. As a senior in high school, I realize that it was so much more than that. I made life-long friends, I've gained the confidence and leadership skills to plan and implement all sorts of events, I learned the value of giving back to the community, and I have discovered how far I can go by challenging myself. Thank you for your unfailing commitment to the girls in our troop. Words cannot express how much you have done for us and how grateful we are. With love and gratitude, Elizabeth   Volunteer Perspective
Dear Orange County Girl Scout Council, As a Girl Scout volunteer and the parent of two teenage Girl Scouts, I wanted to share my family’s experience. I can say truthfully that it is the best thing that ever happened to our family. When the girls were younger, our family had to move a lot, but Girl Scouts was always there for them. No matter what town or city we landed in, the first thing I did was find Girl Scouts, and our daughters immediately felt at home again. Since moving to Orange County, we’ve finally been able to stay put. I became a co-leader for both girls’ troops, sharing the fun and responsibility with four other wonderful volunteers who have become close friends. The girls really just wanted to have fun and hang out with their friends, but it turns out that all those Girl Scout program activities they were enjoying through the years were transforming them in other, more important, ways. Last summer, my youngest daughter’s troop helped plan and direct the activities for a week-long Girl Scout day camp. My daughter is very shy, and she was really nervous, but once she saw that she had the ability to lead younger campers, she really blossomed. Now she is busy preparing for an extreme backpacking trip with Girl Scouts, and her dad and I are really amazed that she’s not even worried whether she can do it. Our oldest daughter is working on her Gold Award project, which is a huge undertaking and full of challenges. I am in awe of the confidence and skills she possesses, thanks to all the Girl Scout community service projects she and her troop members carried out through the years. The travel opportunities in Girl Scouting have also been a wonderful gift for both of us. Several years ago, I became an Advisor for older Girl Scouts, and last year I accompanied my daughter and five other Girl Scouts to Europe. We visited the Girl Scout and Girl Guide World Center in London, and shared so many unforgettable experiences. It was a life-changing event for all of us! The girls have a better sense of the world and their place in it, and every one of them has the skills and determination to try to make it a better place. When I first became a Girl Scout volunteer, I thought I was just doing it for my daughters, but as I look back I realize that I am part of something much bigger. Girl Scouts is changing girls’ lives every day, and preparing them to help change the world. I am proud to be a part of something so wonderful. Yours truly, Linda B., a proud mother and Girl Scout volunteer
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