[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 148 (2002), Part 3]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 3902]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




              IN RECOGNITION OF THE GIRL SCOUTS OF AMERICA

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. TODD RUSSELL PLATTS

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 20, 2002

  Mr. PLATTS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of the Girl 
Scouts of America. The Girl Scouts turn 90 years old this year, and 
have a long and progressive history in our country.
  The Girl Scouts were started in 1912 by Juliette Gordon Lowe. Her 
belief that all girls should experience physical, mental and spiritual 
growth through community involvement soon grew from a 18 member 
organization in 1912, to a 70 thousand member organization in 1920.
  Over the past 90 years, the Girl Scouts have: sold war bonds during 
World War One; led community relief efforts during the Great 
Depression; helped tackle illiteracy with then First Lady, Barbara 
Bush; and most recently, Girl Scouts donated a personal gift of one 
dollar each to help support the children of Afghanistan--no small 
amount with a membership of nearly 4 million girls.
  Within the Senior Girl Scouts division, young women are challenged to 
serve their community through Gold Award projects. Scouts strive for 
two years to earn a series of required badges, pins and patches. A 
scout must then plan and execute a year-long Gold Award project under 
the guidance of a certified volunteer. The Gold Award is the Girl 
Scouts highest award, with less than 4,000 scouts receiving the award 
each year,
  Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to support their local Girl 
Scout chapter and participate in at least one Gold Award ceremony in 
the next year in order to fully appreciate the hard work and enormous 
effort each Girl Scout must exert to achieve her goal.

                          ____________________