On March 12, grab your Thin Mints and your proficiency badges, and get ready to celebrate — because Thursday day marks the 103rd anniversary of the Girl Scouts of the USA, the young women's organization founded by Juliette Gordon Low in 1912. Low, born in 1860, became a widow in 1905, and was looking to devote herself to a new project — one that would teach young women about their worth and inner resources. After initially working with a Scottish organization called Girl Guides and founding the first American branch of the group in 1912, Low decided to break away and further develop her young women's scouting association on her own. She soon changed the organization's name to the Girl Scouts, and became the organization's first president.
Although she died at the age of 66, Low’s dedication to girls and women during her life changed our ideas about girlhood in America. Low never remarried or had children of her own, and gave the Girl Scouts everything she had. And 103 years later, the millions of women who learned skills, made friendships, and discovered themselves through the Girl Scouts have her to thank.
To celebrate her legacy, here are eight things to know about Low, the Girl Scouts, and the ways they changed the world.
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