Girl Scouts To Celebrate 88th Birthday

HARTFORD — The start of the 20th Century marked a period of historic advancement for women. Female workers organized for better wages and working conditions in 1903, Jeannette Rankin became the first woman elected to the US Congress in 1917, and suffragists gained women the momentous right to vote in 1919.

The early part of the last century also gave birth to a movement that helped to produce female leaders and to shape women’s futures right up to the present. In 1912, a progressive woman from Savannah, Georgia founded one of the most influential organizations in the lives of American women, the Girl Scouts.

Girl Scouts from around the country will mark the 88th anniversary of their organization’s founding during Girl Scout Week, celebrated this year on March 11 through 17. Throughout nine decades, the Girl Scouts have stayed true to founder Juliette Gordon Low’s vision: helping girls grow strong. Now, with 3.6 million members, Girl Scouting is giving more girls the opportunities they need to grow strong in body, mind and spirit.

Local girls will hold a birthday celebration at the Old State House in Hartford, Saturday, March 11 from 1 pm to 4 pm. Activities will be held throughout the afternoon for registered Girl Scouts, culminating with a birthday cake cutting ceremony and cannon shoot. The $4 cost will cover all activities at the Old State House. Financial assistance is available.