History
Girl Scouts of Southeast Florida was formed in 2008 through the merger of Girl Scouts of Broward County and the Girl Scouts of Palm Glades Council, which served Palm Beach, Martin, St. Lucie, Indian River, and Okeechobee Counties.
The merger of these two councils was part of a Girl Scouts historic transformation to modernize the iconic organization and focus on leadership development in the 21st century.
The first step in this transformation took place in October of 2005, when 312 delegates from across the nation approved our new mission;
Girl Scouting builds girls of courage, confidence and character who make the world a better place.
This vote signified a change in Girl Scouting, with a strong support to make Girl Scouting a girl led organization.
On August 26, 2006 the Board of Directors for Girl Scouts of the USA voted to endorse a plan to realign 312 councils into 109 high-performance, community based councils. They hoped to build a new structure that would make the most effective use of resources to better serve local communities across the nation and deliver a superior Girl Scout Leadership programs to girls.
Volunteers and staff worked for more than two years on the development of governance and operational plans that would serve as the foundation for Girl Scouts of Southeast Florida.
On September 6, 2008 the delegates for both Girl Scouts of Broward County and Girl Scouts of Palm Glades Council came together and voted to approve the merger. This historic vote was followed by a Unity Celebration where more than 2300 Girl Scouts and family members came together to be part of a Guiness World Record breaking service project.
History of Girl Scouts of Broward County
Girl Scouting in Broward County dates back to 1935, and the Girl Scouts of Broward County Council was officially chartered in 1951. In the late 1950s, the Council acquired Camp Nocatee, a 640-acre property west of Clewiston in Hendry County that was forested and had a 13-acre lake. The first campers spent the night at Camp Nocatee in 1961. In the late 1960s, a second camp was acquired. Situated in Parkland, Camp Telogia was a 10-acre property—another 3 acres was added in the 1980s.
Prior to the Council’s merger with the Girl Scouts of Palm Glades on October 1, 2008, the Girl Scouts of Broward County served approximately 9,000 girls and 4,500 adult volunteers.
History of Girl Scouts of Palm Glades
In 1920, the same year that women were given the right to vote in the United States, the Girl Scouts of the Palm Beaches was formed and received their Girl Scout Council charter. The Girl Scouts of the Palm Beaches was the FIRST of ten councils to be chartered in the state of Florida. At that time only the area of Palm Beach County was included in the council’s jurisdiction. Palm Beach County is the largest county in the state and is situated between Broward County to the south and Martin County to the north. The Girl Scouts of the United States organization under took a national re-alignment of councils called “under the green umbrella” and so it was in 1956 that a new charter was given to the council. It then became known as the Girl Scouts of Palm Glades. Along with the council’s new name came an expansion of its jurisdiction to include four and a half other counties: one – half of Hendry, Okeechobee, Indian River, St. Lucie, and Martin in addition to Palm Beach County. In 1957, Camp Welaka was acquired and is comprised of 640 acres located in Jonathan Dickinson State Park.
Prior to the Council’s merger with the Girl Scout’s of Broward County on October 1, 2008, the Girl Scouts of Palm Glades Council served approximately 10,000 girls (ages 5 – 17) and 4,000 adult volunteers