GIRL SCOUTS OF CENTRAL AND WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS INC

The Girl Scout Cookie Program® is the largest girl-led entrepreneurial program in the world. For more than 100 years, Girl Scouts has used cookie earnings to build leaders who make positive changes in our world. This program helps Girl Scouts fund unique adventures for themselves and their troops all year long. It also allows them to give back to the causes they care about.

Girl Scout Cookie entrepreneurs are leaders in the making as girls learn five skills that are essential to success and to life. Through the Girl Scout Cookie Program, girls learn the importance of goal setting, decision making, money management, people skills, and business ethics. Girl Scout Cookie entrepreneurs are honest, fair, and responsible. Through their cookie businesses, they learn to always do the right thing by their troop members, customers, and communities—lessons that will carry them for a lifetime of leadership. U.S. society today is better because of the girls who have taken part in the program.

It’s a Girl’s World, a community-based program, aims to provide the Girl Scout Leadership Experience to girls where a troop model is not always feasible. This program also aims to foster partnerships with local communities to engage with schools and other organizations through meaningful initiatives. It’s a Girl’s World promotes girls gaining critical skills to approach problems with bold solutions. This opportunity will bring forward positive female role models to help mold the future leadership of young women and foster a sense of belonging for all. Girls who partake will experiment and learn healthy eating habits, robotics basics, the practice of forming and maintaining positive relationships, how to learn and see through media stereotypes, foster an understanding to set and successfully meet financial goals, and learn to use art, nature, and reflection to support their mental health and well-being.

Living in a digital age has brought forward responsibilities we once did not have to consider as a society. Social media connects people at lightning speed, and it is safe to say that almost everyone has had positive and negative experiences with this privilege. All About MEdia is a program implemented to encourage girls in grades 5-8 to foster healthy relationships between themselves and others through social media platforms. Girls will explore online advertising, cyber-bullying, and healthy relationships as they learn to be leaders for peace and safety online. With activities such as role-playing, games, reflection, profile exploration and design, girls will discover new skills to be safe on social media, connect with others to stop cyber-bullying, and take action together to make positive change.

On Your Own: Financial Literacy for Girls is a program dedicated to the development of real world money management and leadership skills for girls. Participants build a greater understanding of how to become responsible consumers, create and live by a budget, build and manage credit, increase their income, and save and invest for whatever's next.

All Girl Scout program activities promote the evidence-based girl led, hands-on, cooperative learning process. The research shows that the programming is most effective and the needs of girls are best met when they actively control the direction of their activities. Girls will learn faster and retain more information as they work together to expand their understanding of financial management.

All Girl Scout programs derive from five pillars; one of them being science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The following are included within our STEM program:

The Geek is Glam Expo is an annual event that has been held at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute for 8 years and counting. This event inspires girls to explore hands-on programs and offers the opportunity to meet notable female professionals.

Our Worcester STEM Exploration Center is equipped with 3-D printers, a smartboard, robotics equipment, cameras, a makerspace, and other devices for girls to explore STEM.

Girls explore career interests in STEM fields through earning badges in computer science, nature/environmental science, engineering, design, health, & agriculture.

The Cookie Robotics Program challenges girls to think innovatively and work collaboratively to research and solve objectives. Teams compete in the FIRST Lego League to identify a locally based problem and develop a solution using robots.

Girl Scout Camps offer programs centering on outdoor exploration, health, and personal wellness to empower girls to realize their potential and gain critical skills that they will carry throughout their lives.
Girls at camp actively practice age-appropriate skills and gain the experiences they need to feel confident as they progress into the next steps of their outdoor journeys. Girls will learn the importance of environmental stewardship and the art of appreciating nature. Camp is a place for girls to build lasting memories by trying new things, meeting new friends, and building independence.

GSCWM owns four beautiful camp sites: Camp Bonnie Brae (East Otis, MA), Camp Green Eyrie (Harvard, MA), Camp Laurel Wood (Spencer, MA), Camp Lewis Perkins (South Hadley, MA). Girl Scouts offers three distinct camp experiences: overnight camp, day camp, and troop camp.