In 2013 the Girl Scout Research Institute (GSRI) released a ground breaking report, The State of the Girl: Unfinished Business, which staked out key issues and major trends affecting girls’ healthy development. In 2014 the GSRI went even further, drilling down their finding to each state in the Union. New York with 1,513,659 girls ages 5 to 17 living within its borders was ranked 21st out of 50 states on an overall index of well-being for girls. This index includes measures of a girl’s physical health and safety, economic well-being, education, emotional health and extracurricular activities.
Girl Scouts of Nassau County (GSNC) finds it important to address
these important measures and does so through the Girl Scout Leadership
Experience (GSLE) and our initiatives.
Girl Scouts introduces girls of every age to science, technology,
engineering, and math (STEM) experiences relevant to everyday life.
Whether they are discovering how a car’s engine runs, how to manager
finances, building and programming robots or exploring careers in STEM
fields, girls are fast-forwarding into the future.
By planning and participating in money-earning projects, girls build
real-world skills that benefit their Troop, councils, communities, and
most importantly, themselves.
Raising competent and confident girls today is more difficult than
ever. Girl Scouts of Nassau County launched its Critical Issues
Initiative in 2005 to educate girls, parents, educators, coaches, and
community members about the pressures girls face. We focus on issues
that girls say are relevant to them, including bullying, healthy
relationships, conflict resolution, body image, responsible digital
citizenship and time management. Programs are interactive and utilize
a variety of different senses and learning styles.
The Healthy Living Initiatives bring a unique perspective to keeping girls healthy as girls define health in their own terms, placing as much emphasis on emotional and social well-being as physical health, nutrition and physical fitness. In addition to healthy eating and physical fitness, the Healthy Living Initiatives focus on increasing girls’ self-esteem and developing healthy relationships. These programs provide girls with the courage, confidence, and character to not only make the world a better place, but their own lives more healthful and balanced.