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Girl Engagement Initiative (GEI)

Community Outreach

GSSEM’s Girl Engagement Initiative helps to give girls in grades K-8 a full Girl Scout experience during regular school hours. The girls belong to troops, take field trips, earn badges and sell cookies, but do so during school hours to eliminate the transportation barrier that after-school meetings require.

About the Girl Engagement Initiative

The Girl Engagement Initiative was started as a way to meet the demand for Girl Scouting in schools where recruiting volunteers to serve as troop leaders proved challenging. The in-school and after-school Girl Scout troops are run by GSSEM staff members who work closely with school leaders to develop a Girl Scouting experience that meets the needs of the school and girl participants. We also conduct programming at shelters in Flint and Port Huron.

School Partners

We currently serve over 3000 girls in the following locations:

  • Detroit Public Schools
  • Ecorse Public Schools
  • Flint Community Schools
  • Monroe Public Schools
  • Pontiac School District
  • Port Huron Schools
  • River Rouge School District
  • Romulus Community Schools
  • Taylor School District
Activities

Girl Scouts can be a great partner in rounding out a girl’s educational experience. We offer opportunities to explore and learn about STEAM, Financial Literacy, Outdoor Education and Camping, bullying prevention and more.

Girls in the GEI program will earn badges and complete Journeys, just as they would in a traditional troop. This past year, our girls earned badges in robotics, online etiquette, managing money, environmental science, outdoor arts, and much more. They completed Journeys such as the "Wonders of Water" and "Between the Earth and Sky."

In the summers, they are invited to attend camp, complete badge workshops, or attend exciting field trips to local museums, theaters, colleges, and more. We have girls that participate in the Junior First Lego League and compete against other troops in our GSSEM Expo.

Girls in the GEI programs also sell cookies. Along with support from their GEI troop leader and the council, girls are encouraged to participate in the cookie program, building skills in budgeting, money managing and sales, earning financial literacy badges, and participating in one of our longest standing traditions!


Download the general permission form >>

Are you interested in bringing the Girl Engagement Initiative to your school?

The Girl Engagement Initiative is available only for schools and organizations in Detroit, Downriver, Flint, Pontiac, or Port Huron, due to funding restrictions. If your school already has an active, volunteer-lead troop, we cannot begin a new troop.

For information on how to get GEI started at your location, please contact Shannon Fransen, Director of Council Initiatives at sfransen@gssem.org.

Are you interested in supporting the Girl Engagement Initiative?

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