Closing of Girl Scout camp means one less safe place for girls to grow

Sadly, another Girl Scout camp closed this month.

Logo from Camp T-shirt before council merger

Sure, you expect former Girl Scout campers and staff to be sad.

I am sad because it reminds me of the three Girl Scout camps I believed in and lived through their closings.

I am sad because the number of Girl Scout camps is dwindling.

Thankfully Mandi Elizabeth explains why even non-Girl Scouts, non-campers should mourn in a post that explains what is so special about a girl's place in the woods.

Susan Harrington, who I met through WAGGGS-L, one of the oldest email lists for Girl Scouts and Girl Guides, introduced the post this way:

"Anybody who can start singing if I type "mmmm, I want to linger...." will appreciate the bittersweet eloquence here. And anyone who can't, well, read the post to see just some of what I love about Girl Scouts."

Indeed Mandi Elizabeth, a college student still active in Girl Scouts, captures the magic of Girl Scouts, the amazing transformation that comes when you spend time being accepted for who you are. Girl Scout camp is the wind that helps the light grow.

But, I'm wasting your time here. Mandi Elizabeth says it so much better so please go read "Goodnight, not goodbye"

Then linger and ask yourself where will the "non-perfect" girls of tomorrow will find a place where
"no one cares what clothes you wear. Heck, no one cares if your clothes even match. No one laughs at you when you fall down and scrape your knee. There is no embarrassment, there is no harassment, there are no mean girls."

Mandi Elizabeth is talking about Camp Yaiewano, closed in September 2013 by  Girl Scouts of NYPENN Pathways Council. Mandi Elizabeth is talking about every Girl Scout camp where a girl discovered her uniqueness defined her and made her as worthy as the most popular girl in any school.

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Want to know more?

Girl Scout camps are owned by Girl Scout Councils, not the national organization. Over on Facebook, there's the Save Our Girl Scout Camps page

Out on the web there's SOS Camps. Save Our Girl Scout Camps

Both are focused on camps in part of Illinois but there are links and information about what's happening with many camps across the United States.