On this day, over 200,000 Girl Scouts and their supporters from all over the world will be gathering in Washington, D.C., for Rock the Mall to participate in the world's biggest sing-along and to celebrate the organization's 100th anniversary.
The Girl Scouts was formed in 1912 by Juliette Gordon Low. The year before in England, she had met Robert Baden-Powell, the founder of scouting, and wanted to bring the same types of values and activities to young women, too.
When she returned to Savannah, Georgia, Low called her cousin and said, ""I've got something for the girls of Savannah, and all of America, and all the world, and we're going to start it tonight!"
What began in 1912 with 18 girls has grown into a worldwide organization with over 3.7 million current Girl Scouts in 145 countries and over 50 million participants overall in the last 100 years.
In the US and across the world, scouting stamps are big: big in popularity, and big business, too.
According to the PENPEX & Sequoia Stamp Club, "There are now over 1500 [1977 total] Boy and Girl Scout [Guide] stamps issued by over 100 different countries. New Scout Stamps are issued every year by one country or another."
So why are we telling you all this two months before the stamp unveiling?
Because we want you to have time to do something special. We challenge all offices to have a Girl Scout event this year. Right now, there are about 25,000 Girl Scouts active in Alabama, not to mention how many former scouts there might be across the state.
Here is your office's chance to get involved in your community and to raise revenue.
If you are interested in doing something for this stamp release but don't know where to start, you can talk to leaders of your local scouting troop, contact the Girl Scouts of North-Central Alabama or the Girl Scouts of Southern Alabama, or contact us for help.
Postmarks will do our best to provide what support we can and to cover every event.
