Ella Nolther, age 11, of Buffalo, N.Y., for her question:
WHEN DID THE GIRL SCOUT ORGANIZATION START?
A British army officer named Robert Baden Powell started the Boy Scouts in 1907 to give boys training in citizenship. Many girls wanted to belong to a similar group, so he helped work out the principles for a separate organization. Then called the Girl guides, the program started in England in 1909 with Baden Powell's sister, Agnes Baden Powell, as president.
Today Girl Scouts and Girl Guides throughout the world make up the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts. The association was started in 1928.
A Girl guide organization was formed at St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada, in 1910 and later in the same year other companies were formed in Toronto and in Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
An organization called Girl Guiding was the first scouting program formed for girls in the United States. A woman named Juliette Low held a first troop meeting in her home in Savannah, Georgia, in 1912. She soon changed the name of the organization to Girl Scouts.
Girl Scouts of the U.S.A. opened a national headquarters in Washington, D.C., in 1913. The organization became incorporated in 1915 with Mrs. Low as its first president.
Girls Scouts of the U.S.A. was a founding member of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts.
Girl Scouts is an organization for girls who are from six through 17. In partnership with adult volunteers, the girls take part in an informal education program of work, play and companionship.
About 3 million girls and more than half a million adults belong to the Girl Scout movement in the United States today. In Canada, almost a quarter of a million girls and more than 30,OU0 adult leaders belong to the Girl Guides of Canada.
In the Girl Scout program, Brownies are the youngest members. They are between the ages of six and eight. Juniors are between the ages of nine and 11, Cadettes between 12 and 14 and Seniors between 14 and 17.
Age ranges for the Girl Guides of Canada are a bit different than for the Girl Scouts. The activities of the groups, however, are very much alike.
Girl Guides have Brownies between the ages of seven through 10 and Guides from 10 to 14. Rangers are girls between the ages of 14 and 18 while Cadets are Girl Guides from 15 to 21. Lones are Guides or Rangers who cannot attend the meetings of an active company.
The World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts has organizations in more than 90 countries. More than 7 million girls and adult leaders belong to the World Association.
The World Association has four homes. "Our Chalet" was opened in Switzerland in 1932, "Olave House" in England in 1939, "Our Cabana" in Mexico in 1957 and "Sangam" in India in the mid 1960s.
Girl Scouts and Girl Guides visiting London may stay at "Olave.
House."
The Girl Scout and Girl Guide motto is "Be prepared" and the slogan is "Do a good turn daily."