Girl Scouts of Western Rivers Council - Oregon
WAGGGS & WORLD FRIENDSHIP

Juliette Gordon Low, an enthusiastic traveler, had friends around the globe.  One of these friends - Lord Robert Baden=Powell, of England - introduced her to Girl Guiding.  Sensing immediately that girls in the United States would benefit from the sort of experiences the Girl Guides participated in, Juliette founded Girl Scouts of the USA in 1912.  While she nurtured and expanded Girl Scouting in the States, she remained committed to a global sisterhood.

More than 210 councils, 18 USA Girl Scouts Overseas locations, and 72 individual donors contributed over $220,000 to the Juliette Low World Friendship Fund in 2007.  Although donations are up $3,000 from 2006, the total is still less than in previous years.

Donations to the Juliette Low World Friendship Fund support training, seminars, international travel, the WAGGGS four World Centers, Member organizations, and the WAGGGS World Thinking Day Fund. Activities supported by the Fund in 2006 are listed in further detail.

1. STUDIO 2B destinations

   With support from the JLWFF, girls and young women from the United States as well as other countries participated in both inbound and outbound events.

   Inbound International Opportunities

   The Juliette Low World Friendship Fund supported the majority of their expenses, but required that the girls provide some of the funding. Thanks to the Fund, Girl Scouts in Overseas Locations were also able to attend inbound events.

   Outbound International Opportunities

   The Fund also supported WAGGGS sponsored events, from international Jamborees in Denmark, Iceland and Sweden, to friendship seminars at three of the World Centers (England, India, and Mexico).  Girl Scouts living overseas also traveled to the United States to participate in destinations.

   $80,000    GSUSA Administered Projects

   $80,000    Total

2. WAGGGS: World Thinking Day Fund, Mutual Aid Scheme, Special Grants, Juliette Low Seminars, The Four World Centers.

The Juliette Low World Friendship Fund makes an annual donation to the WAGGGS World Thinking Day Fund, as well as to other WAGGGS projects.

$100,000    World Thinking Day Fund

$   6,000     Mutual Aid

$   2,000     Western Hemisphere Fund

$   9,000     Juliette Low Seminars

$  12,000     World Center Scholarships

The World Thinking Day Fund was established in 1932 at the Seventh World Conference, held in Poland, when a Belgian delegate suggested that girls could show their friendship on Thinking Day by offering a voluntary contribution to the World Association.  Each year, more than $100,000 in JLWFF contributions is dedicated  to the World Thinking Day Fund, which is managed by WAGGGS.

Thinking Day, February 22, is the birthday of both Lord Baden-Powell, founder of the Boy Scout movement, and his wife Olave, who served as World Chief Guide for WAGGGS.  To emphasize the global aspect of Thinking Day, members at the 30th World Conference, held in Ireland in 1999, changed the name to World Thinking Day.  Girls in the United States still celebrate the birthdays of Lord and Lady Baden-Powell by making contributions to the JLWFF.  They also honor their global sisterhood through World Thinking Day activities.  Girls around the world participate in activities, games and projects with global themes to honor their sister Girl Guides and Girl Scouts in other countries. 

Members of GSUSA contribute to the WAGGGS World Thinking Day Fund through the Juliette Low World Friendship Fund. WAGGGS uses this money to benefit girls around the world and to extend the Girl Scout Movement in many ways, including the following:

MUTUAL AID PROJECTS
In 2007, funds supported the following mutual aid projects:

Honduras
A $1,600 contribution to the Asociaciόn Nacional de Muchachas Guías de Honduras enabled them to organize 20 "Great Girl Guides" clubs for training adult members.  Training sessions for 300 members covered Girl Guiding, fund management, and community service.  Small income-generating enterprises will be established in each community to cover the costs of running Guiding groups.

Chile
The Asociaciόn de Guías y Scouts de Chile received a $1,500 contribution to produce a publication detailing the history of the Girl Guide/Girl Scout movement in Chile to bolster the association's identity and increase awareness of Girl Guiding in Chile.

Western Hemisphere Conference Travel Fund

In addition, the JLWFF provided $5,000 in scholarship for Member Organizations from the Western Hemisphere to attend the triennial conference in Toronto in July 2007.

Leadership Development Seminars

Donations to the JLWFF cover travel scholarships for girls  from developing countries to attend leadership events at the four world centers.  In 2007, $21,000 was allocated to sponsor young women at these events, giving them the opportunity to expand their leadership skills while meeting other young women.

In January 2007, four girls and one adult volunteer represented GSUSA at the Discover Your Potential leadership seminar at Our Cabana, in Cuerñavaca, which brought together 74 Girl Guides and Girl Scouts representing 23 countries.

More than $3,000 from the JLWFF enabled representatives from Denmark, Lithuania, Romania, Ukraine, and  the WAGGGS world center Pax Lodge to attend the March 2007 Annual Training Conference in Germany, which was hosted by USA Girl Scouts Overseas - North Atlantic.  At this training, representatives from 14 different countries came together to develop skills in outdoor education, science and technology, age-level-specific training, event planning, and the environment.  This annual training conference has been held for more than 40 years, bringing together Girl Guides and Girl Scouts from all over the world.

In accordance with the guidelines set by the GSUSA's National Board of Directors, at least 50 percent of the Fund must be used to provide travel opportunities for girls. In FY 2007, $176,924 (62 percent of the budget), supported girl travel opportunities, including destinations scholarships, administration costs, and WAGGGS leadership seminar scholarships at the world centers.