A Guest Blog from Lynne Lawson Fugate, GSCSA CEO

Snaggle-toothed Jack-o-Lanterns. Unfriendly scarecrows. Hissy black cats. Lingering ghosts. October is full of scary things. But what else does your girl find scary? Making new friends? Taking a math test? Raising her hand and getting the answer wrong? Sleeping in a tent? Speaking up for what she believes in?

A key ingredient to facing one’s fears is confidence. The Oxford-English dictionary defines confidence as “a feeling of self-assurance arising from one’s appreciation of one’s own abilities or qualities.” At Girl Scouts, we focus on building girls of courage, confidence, and character! We accomplish this through our Girl Scout Leadership Experience (GSLE)—a collection of engaging, challenging, and fun activities like earning badges, going on awesome trips, selling cookies, exploring science, getting outdoors, and doing community service projects.

The GSLE helps girls learn not to avoid things that are hard for them. Girl Scouts are more likely than non-Girl Scouts to seek challenges and learn from setbacks (62%  vs. 42%). According to the study Linking Leadership to Academic Success: The Girl Scout Difference, girls who are not challenge seekers—who tend to “avoid doing things that are hard for me”—are less likely to feel scholastically competent and academically engaged. Girl Scouts creates a safe environment for girls to try new things. Cooperative learning and girl-led experiences in Girl Scouts help girls become stronger challenge seekers. Whether a girl succeeds or fails, she knows that she is failing among friends and is encouraged to try again.

A collaborative mindset is crucial to many areas in life but possessing the confidence to express your ideas to others doesn’t always come naturally. Girl Scouts are more comfortable working with others on group projects than non-Girl Scouts are (86% vs. 61%). Girl Scouts are also more likely than non-Girl Scouts (81% vs. 59%) to engage in hands-on activities and reflect on what worked and what didn’t. Understanding how to try again is almost as important as having the motivation to try again. 

When it comes to making decisions, Girl Scouts are much more likely than non-Girl Scouts to take an active role in decision-making (80% vs. 51%). Feeling a sense of control over her life can do wonders for a girl’s confidence. Girls who participate in Girl Scouts likewise feel more optimistic about their overall future than non-Girl Scouts (73% vs. 64%). When they have a more optimistic outlook on life and are expecting to have a great future, girls will face their fears head-on!

The Girl Scout Leadership Experience instills in girls a strong sense of self, teaches them to be healthy challenge seekers, and shows them how to be problem solvers. Girls also learn positive values and how to create healthy relationships so they can help others in their times of fearfulness. So whatever creeps around the corner, have no fear, Girl Scouts is here! 

Lynne Lawson Fugate is the Chief Executive Officer of the Girl Scout Council of the Southern Appalachians. The Council is comprised of 46 counties in eastern Tennessee, southwest Virginia, and northwest Georgia. With nearly 15,000 members, the Council has service centers in Johnson City, Knoxville, and Chattanooga. 

Join Girl Scouts today!