Girl Scouts of Minnesota and Wisconsin River Valleys

Girl Scouts River Valleys has over 100 years of experience in promoting gender equity for all girls. We provide accessible, all-girl leadership programming to 18,000 girls every year, with the goal of promoting in them the leadership and social emotional outcomes they need to succeed.

The Girl Scout impact is far-reaching and long-lasting. Girl Scout alums complete college degrees at a higher rate, are more active in volunteerism and community work, and vote at higher rates than their non-Girl Scout counterparts . In Girl Scouts, girls will build a foundation for leadership with long-term benefits to them, their family, their employers, and their community.

To promote positive development in girls and support them in building bright futures, River Valleys provides mentorship and girl-centered programming around the topics most relevant and beneficial to girls. These topics include social emotional skills—which are in high demand from girls’ future employers —and specific areas where girls face disparities and need additional support.

Girl Scouts promotes the following key focus areas:
STEM
Girl Scouts allows girls to take the lead in their STEM education as they tackle ambitious STEM challenges and earn skill-building badges in high-demand fields such as cybersecurity, computer programming, engineering, and construction. The majority of our STEM events are led by female STEM professionals, which gives girls the female mentorship they need to see that they do have a place in STEM. In 2019, 98% of Girl Scouts STEM participants met a woman in STEM.

Life Skills
Girl Scouts promotes skills vital to girls’ lifetime happiness and even employment , such as positive self-esteem, teamwork, decision-making, and healthy relationship building. In an all-girl environment surrounded by female peers and mentors, girls can build these skills, express themselves creatively, and build support networks without fear of judgment. 85% of Girl Scouts experienced a safe and encouraging learning environment at a Girl Scouts event and 94% learned something new.

Outdoors
River Valleys’ vast array of outdoor programming—including rock climbing, camping, kayaking, hiking, and more—encourages every girl to embrace their inner adventurer. Girls participate through our council-led Adventure Club events, our Every Girl in a Tent camping initiative, or our summer Girl Scout Camp programs. 76% of Girl Scouts who attended outdoor programming said that they were confident in their ability to try new things outdoors, even if it was hard. All-girl outdoor programming doesn’t just boost outdoor skills—it promotes overall persistence in girls.

Entrepreneurship
Girl Scouts provides girls with the experiences they need to think creatively about entrepreneurship, practice financial literacy, and plan for the future. The Girl Scout Cookie Program is our main financial education program, engaging over 19,000 girls annually. Through the Cookie Program—the largest girl-led entrepreneurial program in the world—girls build business skills early as they set goals, work as a team, communicate with customers, and work with budgets.

Leadership
Girl leadership is a component of everything that a Girl Scout does. Whether they’re planning how to earn a skill-building badge, leading a community service day, or earning their Gold Award, our girls are preparing themselves to become our future leaders. Because Girl Scout activities are typically community-based, girls often make a positive impact in the community through their leadership. 6 in 10 girls reported having had significant leadership opportunities with Girl Scouts.

Girl Scouts is designed to work for every girl. However, we also know that girls from underserved communities face different barriers when it comes to participating in out-of-school time activities such as Girl Scouts. That is why River Valleys has designed three pathways for girl and family participation, so that every girl can access the incredible impact of an all-girl environment.

Volunteer-led Girl Scout Troops
In volunteer-led Girl Scout troops, trained Girl Scout volunteers create a supportive, all-girl troop environment comprised of approximately 12 girls and 2 adult troop leaders that meets monthly, weekly, or more. Troops work together to earn skill-building badges such as the adventure badge; explore new activities such as computer programming at our council-led, experiential learning events; and volunteer to take action on community issues such as environmental conservation. In the process, Girl Scouts build friendships and support networks, confidence, and life skills.

Mentored Troops
In 2019, River Valleys created Mentored Troops as a participation pathway for girls and women of color, who have historically been underserved by Girl Scouts. Mentored Troops operate similarly to volunteer-led troops, but are given additional financial resources and staff support by River Valleys. This support provides women of color with the encouragement they need to confidently lead a Girl Scout troop of color—and eventually do so independently of staff support. In its first year, Mentored Troops reached nearly 300 girls who otherwise wouldn’t have experienced Girl Scout programming.

Girl Scouts ConnectZ
Girl Scouts ConnectZ is designed for girls from underserved communities where there is little or no volunteer capacity—such as communities of color, low-income communities, or immigrant communities. In order to serve these communities, River Valleys staff members deliver completely subsidized programming to girls at the schools and community sites where they already live and learn. As a result, ConnectZ vastly reduces financial and transportation barriers, ensuring that 3,000 underserved girls annually have a supportive, all-girl space where they can plan for bright futures.

While affiliated with our national organization, Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA), Girl Scouts River Valleys is one of 111 councils in the U.S. acting as a self-sufficient non-profit with our own 501(c)3 determination. River Valleys is among the top 13 councils for largest girl membership in the nation and is recognized for innovative programs that inspire girls of all backgrounds to build confidence, positive relationships, and a better world.

"The very mission of Girl Scouts is to encourage girls to serve, to stand up, and to take their place besides a long line of American heroes: ordinary citizens…expecting that they can change their communities and their country." - Condoleezza Rice, first female African American secretary of state

We are constantly improving Girl Scout programming to best serve members. In 2018, we expanded our STEM program—including the creation of a week-long trades camp called Power Girls. We also renovated our Camp Elk River property to provide girls with even more outdoor exploration opportunities; and continued to provide diversity, equity, and inclusion training for staff.

We are also in the midst of our 2019-2021 strategic plan. In addition to recommitting River Valleys to our goals of improving programming and promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion, the FY19-FY21 plan promotes several new initiatives for which we are incredibly excited. These include:
- Creating mentored troop opportunities that will provide extra resources and staff support to volunteer-led troops in communities historically underserved by Girl Scouts.
- Implementing a civic advocacy program that will both raise awareness of girls’ needs and give girls the opportunity to explore the exciting and important world of local politics.
- Ensuring the sustainability of Girl Scout programming by creating integrated funding opportunities, strengthening existing funder relationships, and further exploring funding areas with new potential, such as individual giving.

These initiatives are designed to help us continue delivering our successful program. Girl Scouting has a legacy of helping every girl reach their full potential, and we know it works. Our Girl Scouts are:
• Friends and dedicated teammates– 75% of girls learn by working together
• Purposeful explorers – 6 in 10 girls say that they learn by doing
• Believe in themselves and their futures – 8 in 10 girls say they have confidence in themselves and their abilities.