[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 26 (Thursday, March 12, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1901-S1902]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 TRIBUTE TO THE GIRL SCOUTS OF THE U.S.A. ON THE OCCASION OF THE 86TH 
                      ANNIVERSARY OF ITS FOUNDING

 Mr. GRAMS. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to the 
Girl Scouts of the U.S.A. on the occasion of the 86th anniversary of 
its founding.
  The Girl Scouts have come a long way since founder Juliette Gordon 
Low made a phone call to her cousin in 1912, proclaiming that she had 
something for all the girls of Savannah, Georgia, and all the girls of 
America. The phone call led to the gathering of 18 girls in Juliette's 
backyard to study nature and learn to play basketball. This was the 
start of the Girl Scouts of the U.S.A.
  The Girl Scouts spread quickly across the United States, reaching my 
home state of Minnesota in July 1918, only six short years after its 
inception. Since then, the Girl Scouts have evolved into the largest 
voluntary organization for girls in the world. The Girl Scouts 
membership nationwide consists of over 2.5 million girls between the 
ages of five and seventeen and more than 800,000 volunteers who give 
their time and talents to ensure these young women are instilled with 
the knowledge that they can do anything they set their minds to. As for 
Minnesota, there are approximately

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61,000 girls and 19,000 volunteers associated with the Girl Scouts. The 
Girl Scouts of the U.S.A joins a worldwide family of 9 million girls 
and adults in 136 countries as a member of the World Association of 
Girl Guides and Girl Scouts.
  The Girl Scouts offer, for girls of every background, activities that 
enhance the development of confidence, determination, and the skills 
needed to succeed in today's world. One activity rich in Girl Scout 
tradition is the selling of Girl Scout cookies. This tradition, which 
began in Philadelphia, has been around since 1934. Many successful 
businesswomen today say they got their start selling Girl Scout 
cookies. Girl Scouts develop many skills during the annual cookie 
sales, such as establishing goals, handling money, and the satisfaction 
of finishing a job.
  By cooperating with peers to achieve a common end, Girl Scouts learn 
valuable lessons in leadership. Countless civic, professional, and 
community leaders throughout our nation were involved in the Girl 
Scouts of the U.S.A. Six of my Senate colleagues here in the 105th 
Congress--Barbara Mikulski, Kay Bailey Hutchison, Carol Moseley-Braun, 
Patty Murray, Susan Collins, and Mary Landrieu--were all Girl Scouts.
  Mr. President, for eighty-six years the Girl Scouts of the U.S.A. 
have instilled in American youth the qualities of the Girl Scout Law 
and Promise, which focus on serving God and country, helping people at 
all times, being honest and fair, friendly and helpful, considerate and 
caring, courageous and strong, responsible and respectful, and making 
the world a better place. These are truly honorable qualities to live 
by and I am proud to pay tribute to the young women who honor them 
daily and the volunteers who make the Girl Scout program a 
reality.

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