123STA T . 2 8 81 PUBLIC LA W 111 – 8 6—O CT. 2 9, 2 0 09 PublicLaw1 11 –86 111 thCongres s A n Act Torequi re th e S e c ret a r y o f the Trea s ury to m i n t coins in commemoration of the centennia l of the esta b lishment of the G irl Scouts of the U nite d States of A merica .Beit e nac te dby t h e S enate and Hous eo fR e pr esentati v es of the U nited States of Am erica in C on g ress assemb l ed ,SECTION1. S H O R T TIT L E. ThisActmaybe cite d as the ‘ ‘ G i rlS c ou ts U SA C e n tennial Commemorati v e Coin Act ’ ’ . SEC. 2 . F IN D IN G S. The Con g ress f ind as follo w s
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The Girl Scouts of the United States of America is the world’s p reeminent organi z ation dedicated solely to girls where they build character and s k ills for success in the real world. ( 2 ) I n1 9 11 ,J uliette Gordon L ow met Sir R obert B aden -P owell, a war hero and the founder of the Boy Scouts. ( 3 ) W ith Baden-Powell’s help and encouragement, Juliette Gordon Low made plans to start a similar association for Amer- ican girls. ( 4 ) O n M arch 12, 1912, Juliette Gordon Low organized the first 2 Girl Scout Troops in Savannah, Georgia consisting of1 8 members. ( 5 ) Low devoted the ne x t 15 years of her life to building the organization, which would become the largest voluntary association for women and girls in the United States. ( 6 ) Low drafted the Girl Scout laws, supervised the writing of the first handbook in 1913, and provided most of the financial support for the organization during its early years. ( 7 ) The Girl Scouts of the United States of America was chartered by the United States Congress in 195 0 in title 36, United States Code. (8) Today there are more than 3,700,000 members in 236,000 troops throughout the United States and United States territories. (9) Through membership in the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, Girls Scouts of the United States of America is part of a worldwide family of 10,000,000 girls and adults in 145 countries. (10) More than 50,000,000 American women en j oyed Girl Scouting during their childhood — and that number continues to grow as Girl Scouts of the United States of America continues to inspire, challenge, and empower girls everywhere. GirlScoutsU S ACen tenni a l Co m memorati v e Coin Act .31 USC 5 11 2 note. O ct. 2 9, 2 0 09 [H . R . 6 21 ]
