Timeline

Click below to be directed to each decade's highlights, or scroll down to review our entire history.
1910s | 1920s | 1930s | 1940s | 1950s | 1960s
1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s
1912: Girl Scouts of USA founded
1913: First New York City troops started
1917: First troop for girls with disabilities begins at PS 75 in Brooklyn
1918: National award recognizes Girl Scouts’ service projects for WW I efforts
1919: Bronx, Brooklyn, and Manhattan Councils organized
1920s: Girl Scouts help at polls when women win right to vote; membership grows – troops open in Chinatown and Harlem; Juliette Low dies 1920: Diverse troops form as early in 1920 in Manhattan
1924: Queensboro Council organized
1929: Staten Island Council organized
1930s: First citywide commercial cookie sale launched
1930: Girl Scout Federation of Greater New York incorporated; First Lady Lou Henry Hoover attends dinner to mark beginning of Girl Scout Federation of Greater New York
1935: Girl Scout Federation of New York raises money through sale of cookies; coins phrase “Girl Scout Cookies” on boxes
1939: Girl Scout Council of Greater New York host exhibit at World’s Fair in Flushing, Queens
1940: Girl Scout councils of five boroughs consolidate, creating the Girl Scout Council of Greater New York, Inc.; Irving Berlin, writer of “God Bless America,” establishes God Bless America Fund, dedicating funds to special area Scouts in New York
1942: Mrs. Harriet Phipps becomes president of the Girl Scout Council of Greater New York; Song “America Needs You”, written by Kent Cooper, dedicated to Girl Scouts of New York City
1942-1945: During World War II, Girl Scouts take care of babies, releasing mothers for war work; provide courier service by foot and bike; operate one of city’s biggest scrap salvage depots
1945: Girl Scouts Alumnae of Greater New York forms; Girl Scout Council of Greater New York receives Red Cross Citation in recognition of service to Armed Forces
1947 Launch of special area program to concentrate on providing the Girl Scouts experience in underserved areas: East Harlem, East Brooklyn, South Central Bronx, Lower East Side, South Ozone Park
1949: Scout House, headquarters of Girl Scout Council of Greater New York, formally dedicated at 133 E. 62 St.
1950s: East Harlem Project becomes model program for national membership outreach; in recognition of growing Spanish membership, forms printed in Spanish
1952: Awarded 1st prize in Register and Vote competition sponsored by American Heritage Foundation
1957: Council announces to New York City that it will help fight juvenile delinquency – program goes on the be successful
1959: Council Membership reaches 91,565 girls
1960s: Troops reorganize into 4 age levels; Phipps family gives building for new Council headquarters
1960: Mrs. Phipps receives first Huntington-Manning Medal of the Youth Consultation Service of the Protestant Episcopal Diocese of New York, an award for “distinguished service in guiding girls and young women toward constructive and responsible roles in our free society”; Leaders in Training program launched, teaching senior scouts how to lead troops; Council works w/nearly 1,000 agencies, providing help with various community projects
1962: Girl Scouts Stamp launched
1964: Language programs begin to be offered at camp
1967: Girl Scout Council of Greater New York moves to 335 E 46 St. - building was built especially for Council by Mrs. Phipps’ family; 8,000 girls celebrate Irving Berlin’s 80th birthday in Central Park; Science programming begins to be offered as part of Girl Scout programming in NYC
1973: Launch of Take Stock in New York program at NY Stock Exchange with Mayor Beame. This program mobilizes girls to improve the city.
1976: Girl Scouts participate in country’s bicentennial celebration with exhibit at Twin Towers
1983: Opening of Activity Centers in Chinatown and Far Rockaway
1984: Manhattan Girl Scouts carry banner at the front of the ticker-tape parade honoring the nation’s 1984 Olympic champions; Daisy Girl Scout Program is adopted, opening Girl Scouting to girls ages 5 and up
1988: Irving Berlin turns 100; Girl Scouts honor him with parade; Passing of Ellin Berlin, influential, long-time GSGNY supporter; Reaching Out program launched to help girls deal with difficult issues including drug and alcohol abuse
1989: Girl Scouts Scholars College Prep Program launched
1990: Career mentoring program launched, bringing together girls and women business leaders
1991: Corporate Cookie Connection program launched, hailed as unique marketing model for cookies
1992: Girl Scout Council of Greater New York hosts first annual Women of Distinction Breakfast; honors role models of ethical leadership and one extraordinary Girl Scout; Introduction of “Read to Lead” program to improve girls’ basic reading skills
1993: Thousands celebrate Council’s 80th Anniversary at Shea Stadium; Girls Scouts work 10,580 hours to clean, plant, and maintain parks through the Adopt-a-Park program
1998: Be Your Best program initiated, emphasizing health, fitness, and nutrition
1999: Camp Kaufmann rededicated after re-modernization in 1998
2001: Nearly 70,000 boxes of cookies sold in five hours at the World Trade Center during last sale at the site pre-9/11
2002: Launch of programs Project Bold (violence prevention) and CentsAbility (financial literary)
2003: Women with Wings initiated in collaboration with NASA to stimulate interest in Science, Math, and Aerospace; formation of Irving Berlin Girl Scouts Chorus
2004: From Badge to Business program incorporated in Girl Scouts Scholars College Prep Program; Girl Scouts, Global Citizens program launched in partnership with United Nations Development Fund for Women
2006: Launch of Juliette Low Society
2007: Start of Troops Support Troops program (later Operation Cookie), allowing people to purchase cookies for U.S. servicewomen and servicemen
2008: In-school Career Exploration Program launched at 5 at-risk middle schools in South Bronx
2009: Leadership Advisory Board established



One of our Bronx Girl Scouts, Tiffany, at this Saturday's celebration of GSGNY's 100th anniversary at Yankee Stadium.
LAST DAY FOR COOKIES! Visit a Cookie Cupboard location today to stock up before the fall. Thank you to everyone who supports the Girl Scout Cookie Program every year. Girl Scout Cookies Pop-Up Shops in each of the five boroughs are now open, and will continue through May 16, 2013, except for our Bronx location, which will close on Thursday May 9, 2013. www.girlscoutsnyc.org
Check out this wonderful piece about our 100th anniversary gala: http://causeceleb.newsvine.com/_news/2013/05/01/18001962-girl-scouts-of-greater-new-york-mean-more-than-just-cookies?lite Cause Celeb highlights a celebrity’s work on behalf of a specific cause. This week, Sandra Lee and Trish McEvoy talk about their work with Girl Scouts of Greater New York. 2012 marked Girl Scouts of America’s 100th anniversary, and this year The Girl Scouts of Gre … causeceleb.newsvine.com
One of our newest exhibitors for the Bridge Crossing that we're excited has decided to join us on June 2, Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian has a free event this weekend that you should definitely consider checking out. The culture and traditions of Native Hawai’i reverberate during Aloha Days, Saturday May 18th & Sunday May 19th, 12 pm-5 pm at the National Museum of the American Indian in New York, located at 1 Bowling Green across from Battery Park. Performances and hula workshops will feature Hālau O ‘Aulani, a Hawaiian dance troupe. Kids will have the opportunity to stamp traditional kapa designs on a tote bag, make cloth leis, and kukui-nut bracelets. For more about the museum, visit http://nmai.si.edu/visit/newyork/ The National Museum of the American Indian–New York is located within the historic Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House. The museum’s permanent and temporary exhibitions—as well as a range of public programs, including music and dance performances, films, and symposia—explore the diversity of the Na... nmai.si.edu
Why does Caitlin from troop 6127 need Girl Scouts? *** To submit your own reason for "Why Girls Need Girl Scouting", simply copy the URL listed below into your browser, print out the document it contains and write in black marker - in no more than 6 words - why YOU need Girl Scouts! Then have your troop leader take a close-up of you holding the paper in front of your left shoulder and mail it to us at katrin@anatgerstein.com (include your name and troop #). Thanks for participating! http://www.girlscoutsnyc.org/uploaded/files/Girls/INeedGS.pdf
Catch-Up Cookie Campaign Form 2012-2013, 6 days ago
Did you have newly registered Girl Scouts that participated in the Catch-Up Cookie Campaign? Make sure you fill out the electronic form on our website - linked below - so they're eligible to receive rewards. Forms must be submitted by May 20th so complete it today. girlscoutsnyc.wufoo.com
LAST week for Girl Scout Cookies! Make your appointments now for our Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, or Staten Island Cookie Cupboard locations. Thursday, May 16th will be your last opportunity to get Girl Scout Cookies before the fall. Please note that troops must make appointments to pick up orders at the Cookie Cupboard. Troop Leaders must present bank deposit receipts - not cash - at time of order pick up to receive order. Specific Cupboard locations have specific guidelines that must be followed. www.girlscoutsnyc.org
Our Board President Rose M. Littlejohn and CEO Barbara Murphy-Warrington have a special Mother's Day message. This Sunday is Mother's Day in the USA, a celebration of women who play a critical and central role in supporting and nurturing girls and enabling them to reach their full potential. Over the past 100 years,… www.girlscoutsnyc.org
All over New York, Girl Scouts are helping their communities and changing their lives with the money raised from Girl Scout Cookie sales. Tell us your story of how your troop is using the funds, and how your girls are doing things that never would have been possible without Girl Scout Cookies. Email your stories, photos, and videos to nathan@anatgerstein.com.
Cookie booth marketing 101 | Volunteer Blog — Little Brownie Bakers, 11 days ago
Cookie Cupboards are open for 1 more week - that still leaves time to do 1 last booth sale. This post on the Little Brownie Bakers Volunteer Blog highlights some fun ideas for making your booth sale a great experience. Go to our Cookie Resources page at www.girlscoutsnyc.org to find the Booth Sale Application. You still have time to pick up one more booth! With booth sales, selling One More Box to each customer is a snap. Customers love to buy cookies when they can eat them right away! blog.littlebrowniebakers.com
This film featuring the honorees of our 100th Anniversary Gala, Renee Haugerud, Michelle Lee, Sandra Lee and Trish McEvoy and our New York City Girl Scouts includes five chapters: "100 Year Commitment," "Global Citizens," "The Sky is the Limit," "Making a Difference" and "Today's Girls, Tomorrow's Leaders."
To celebrate the 100th Anniversary of Girl Scouting in New York City, this film featuring Girl Scout Board President Rose Littlejohn, CEO Barbara Murphy-Warrington and our New York City Girl Scouts, includes highlights from our first 100 years and then focuses on the importance of "making the history of tomorrow" today.
Trish McEvoy, Founder and CEO, Trish McEvoy Beauty hosted Girl Scouts and Volunteers in her New York City Studio in April 2013.
Thank you for being a friend to New York City's 26, 658 Girl Scouts.
Michelle Y. Lee, Northeast Regional President, Wells Fargo Bank, hosts a group of Girl Scouts at the Wells Fargo Learning and Development Center for a "Hands-on-Banking" Financial Literacy Lesson and an inspirational Career Presentation.
Renee Haugerud, Founder and Chief Investment Officer, Galtere, hosts a troop of Brownie Girl Scouts in her offices and teaches them about global currency and the importance of being global citizens.
Sandra Lee, Childhood Hunger Advocate and Emmy and Gracie Award Winning TV Host with 300 Girl Scouts doing a park-clean up in Prospect Park, Brooklyn on April 6, 2013. Girl Scouts have made a 100 Year Commitment to keep this area of the park clean.
This webinar is designed for Alumnae, Parents, & Volunteers to get all of the info you need to lead girls in earning Girl Scouting's highest awards. Learn the requirements along with some interactive project planning activities to bring back to your girls.
As you may know, the Girl Scout Cookie Sale is the largest girl-led Business & Entrepreneurship program in the world. Through their cookie sales, Girl Scouts learn five essential skills that equip them to succeed in school, work and beyond: •Money Management •Decision Making •Goal Setting •People Skills •Business Ethics We have developed the Cookie University program as a way for girls to develop and build on these skills through engaging in fun, hands-on interactive activities centered around the Cookie Sale and learning from older girls, who have Cookie Sale experience, when possible. In Fall 2012, we launched our first-ever Cookie University and Cookie University Mentor Training. At Cookie University Mentor Training at ING Direct Café, Cadettes, Seniors and Ambassadors had the unique opportunity to learn from and engage with professionals from a range of fields such as Business, Finance, Marketing, Customer Service and Sales. They learned about these fields and what it takes to work in them successfully. They also gained invaluable firsthand knowledge and skills that they can apply to selling cookies and planning for their future careers. Girls also worked together to design a plan for sharing their newfound knowledge and skills with Brownies at our Cookie University. At Cookie University at The Cooper Union, Brownies learned from Cadettes, Seniors and Ambassadors about how to succeed in their cookie sales. The older girls taught and mentored the Brownies and shared the invaluable knowledge and skills they gained at their workshop and their own cookie sales experiences. Brownies developed and built on their knowledge and skill sets in the areas of Goal-Setting, Decision Making, Money Management, People Skills and Business Ethics. They "graduated" from Cookie University ready to tackle and excel in their entrepreneurial endeavors! In addition to offering these special initiatives, we have developed a Cookie University Mentor Training curriculum for Cadettes, Seniors and Ambassadors (go to www.girlscoutsnyc.org to download curricula) and this webinar to help teach you to use the curriculum. Webinars and curriculum are also available for Daisies and Brownies, to be used in conjunction with this training on www.girlscoutsnyc.org and our YouTube channel. These curricula are meant to serve as guides for Troop Leaders and Parents to offer the Cookie University program either to their troops at their troop meetings or for them, their Borough Program Committee and/or Service Unit to organize their own Multi-Troop, Borough-Wide or Service Unit events.
As you may know, the Girl Scout Cookie Sale is the largest girl-led Business & Entrepreneurship program in the world. Through their cookie sales, Girl Scouts learn five essential skills that equip them to succeed in school, work and beyond: •Money Management •Decision Making •Goal Setting •People Skills •Business Ethics We have developed the Cookie University program as a way for girls to develop and build on these skills through engaging in fun, hands-on interactive activities centered around the Cookie Sale and learning from older girls, who have Cookie Sale experience, when possible. In Fall 2012, we launched our first-ever Cookie University and Cookie University Mentor Training. At Cookie University Mentor Training at ING Direct Café, Cadettes, Seniors and Ambassadors had the unique opportunity to learn from and engage with professionals from a range of fields such as Business, Finance, Marketing, Customer Service and Sales. They learned about these fields and what it takes to work in them successfully. They also gained invaluable firsthand knowledge and skills that they can apply to selling cookies and planning for their future careers. Girls also worked together to design a plan for sharing their newfound knowledge and skills with Brownies at our Cookie University. At Cookie University at The Cooper Union, Brownies learned from Cadettes, Seniors and Ambassadors about how to succeed in their cookie sales. The older girls taught and mentored the Brownies and shared the invaluable knowledge and skills they gained at their workshop and their own cookie sales experiences. Brownies developed and built on their knowledge and skill sets in the areas of Goal-Setting, Decision Making, Money Management, People Skills and Business Ethics. They "graduated" from Cookie University ready to tackle and excel in their entrepreneurial endeavors! In addition to offering these special initiatives, we have developed a Cookie University curriculum for Brownies (go to www.girlscoutsnyc.org to download curricula) and this webinar to help teach you to use the curriculum. Webinars and curriculum are also available for Daisies and for the Cookie University Mentor Training for Cadettes, Seniors, and Ambassadors on www.girlscoutsnyc.org and our YouTube channel. These curricula are meant to serve as guides for Troop Leaders and Parents to offer the Cookie University program either to their troops at their troop meetings or for them, their Borough Program Committee and/or Service Unit to organize their own Multi-Troop, Borough-Wide or Service Unit events.