News broke yesterday that the governing body of the Boy Scouts of America voted unanimously to allow girls to enter the program.  Now, Jacqueline Ford, the CEO of the Girl Scouts of Kentuckiana, is responding.  Here's her official statement.

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Dear Friends:

As you are probably aware, Boy Scouts of America just announced their plan to include girls in their membership. In response to this announcement, the following is an excerpt from the GSUSA statement:

Girl Scouts remains committed to and believes strongly in the importance of the all-girl, girl-led, and girl-friendly environment that Girl Scouts provides, which creates a necessary safe space for girls to learn and thrive. We hear from girls and their families every day about the value of the incredible experiences we offer them, including in STEM, outdoor, entrepreneurship, and life-skills programming. And thousands of exceptional Girl Scouts earn their Gold Award each year, Girl Scout’s highest award, becoming Gold Award Girl Scouts by transforming an idea and vision for change into an actionable plan with measurable, sustainable, and far-reaching impact at the local, national, and global levels.

The benefit of this type of girl-centered environment has been well-documented by educators, scholars, and other girl- and youth-serving organizations, as well as Girl Scouts themselves. We are dedicated to ensuring that girls can take advantage of a program tailored specifically to their unique developmental needs. Only Girl Scouts has more than 100 years of experience helping girls tap into their leadership potential by reinforcing and extending the skills they learn in school in a supportive, encouraging environment in which they feel safe to just be themselves. At Girl Scouts, we are girl experts, and we work every day to help girls develop the courage, confidence, and character necessary to make the world a better place.

Girl Scouts is, and will remain, the scouting program that truly benefits U.S. girls by providing a safe space for them to learn and lead. Girl Scouts of Kentuckiana will continue to stand strong because of your support. 

Sincerely,

Jacqueline Ford

CEO Girl Scouts of Kentuckiana

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