Girl Scouts to Celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day by Serving Their Communities

By Kathy Cloninger
Chief Executive Officer
Girl Scouts of the USA

The nation will celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday, January 21, and since it became a national holiday, the Girl Scouts have honored Dr. King's legacy by engaging in a wide variety of community service projects, from serving food at homeless shelters to painting murals at community centers.

The theme of this year's national holiday is "Make It a Day On, Not a Day Off," and Girls Scouts across the country will certainly be responding to that call. In Washington, D.C., Anwar Esam Omeish of MAS Girl Scout Troop 3611 of the Girl Scout Council of the Nation's Capitol has been selected by the Oprah Winfrey Show to read an excerpt from Dr. King's "I Have A Dream" speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. It is quite an honor for Anwar and the Girl Scouts and a wonderful way to honor Dr. King's legacy. The program will air on Monday. In San Antonio, girls will march in what is one of the largest Martin Luther King Jr. Day parades in the nation with some 100,000 participants. In Minnesota, the Girl Scouts of the Monroe Service Unit and Girl Scouts of Tulip Trace Council will gather to knit hats for cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. These are just a small sample of the many and varied activities and service projects our girls will take part in on Monday.

We must not lose sight, however, that all of these efforts are in honor of someone whose commitment to social justice, civil rights and nonviolence changed a nation. I am proud to note that the Girl Scouts of Dr. King's day embraced that commitment. In 1956, Dr. King lauded GSUSA as a "force for desegregation." Today, a Girl Scout's commitment to embracing diversity remains woven into everything she does, beginning with the Girl Scout Promise and Law—the foundation of all Girl Scout activities. For us an organization, the mission continues to focus on building a diverse group of girls who have the courage, confidence, and character to make this world a better place, and become the leaders of tomorrow that Dr. King would have been proud of.

I hope you have a wonderful holiday in service to others and will join me in honoring Dr. King's legacy by continuing to make the world a better place for our girls.