This is Our Moment

From the desk of GSSNE CEO, Dana Borrelli-Murray:

Childhood at warp speed.
Lack of community.
Girls are afraid to be themselves.
The kindness gap.

These were the topics of conversation at last month’s GSUSA national meeting of Council leadership.

These topics were coupled with staggering research on girls today—a world where mental health is a headline, technology has taken control of all parts of childhood, and parenting is generally… terrifying. Community connective tissue is thread-bare. And more than ever, there is a stark difference in the world of girls based on family income.

When surveyed, families uniformly wanted help—to regrow kindness, opportunities, experiences, and friendships for their youth, while setting them up for future successes.

This is our moment, Girl Scouts. We are equipped to become the antidote. But across the country—and in our own Council geography—we are often viewed as benign—wholesome and adventurous, cookie-heavy, and out of alignment with today’s needs. And if I’ve learned anything in the last two years, it’s that this portrayal is far from our truth.

We need a value proposition. This value proposition needs to work for us locally. Perhaps it will focus on getting our kids outside, combatting loneliness and socialization issues, and growing skills and careers, connecting to local economic needs.

We know that our future must align to diversity, equity, and inclusion goals—our Council must remove systemic barriers to participation and recenter on the experience of youth furthest from economic and racial justice.

Last year, I talked about getting our Council house in order so we are ready to take on these challenges. Now: we are resetting for the future and investing in our people.

We are focusing on addressing the needs of our volunteers, in a time when volunteerism nationally across all sectors is at an all-time low. It is a push and pull—we must have volunteers who are enacting our Council goals, which means providing the right level of training, guidelines, processes, and oversight- while removing as many barriers, obstacles, and burdensome layers to volunteers as possible.

To do this, GSSNE Council staff need to continue to realign as your supporters and partners—building a nest for your volunteerism. This means staff leading with empathy over judgment and partnership over self-preservation.

It also means designing and implementing new program models that do not rely solely on the generosity of our volunteers. This means opening doors to new business models and funding—we must prioritize program designs that are built with community input, meeting local needs.

In my old work, I used to talk a lot about the innovation curve. In every population facing change, there is a bell curve, and people fall somewhere on the curve. There are always the weirdo innovators, and then the early adopters, who push for changes that others are moved by. There is the middle of the bell curve with the majority of the crowd, taking a wait-and-see approach. And towards the end of the curve, there are always the laggards—the blockers—they are usually 3% of any population—but they tend to take up more than 3% of air time.

Here at GSSNE, we cannot afford to provide outsized space to these blockers anymore.

What could happen if we all do this together? How do we want to show up for Girl Scouts of the future?

Here are some goalposts:

A future where all want to be Girl Scouts and are able to do so
An organization where all staff and volunteers are emotionally intelligent, mission-aligned, and manage hard conversations and decisions with grace
A membership that reflects our population
A program where badges, patches, journeys, and partnerships equip youth to build for their future, regardless of family income
A Movement that is recognized and treated as a viable and relevant community asset

Girl Scouts, now more than ever.

On behalf of the entire GSSNE staff, thank you all for playing a vital role in this lifesaving work. It’s my honor to serve the Girl Scouts.