Girl Scouts Florida Report: A call to action for supporting girls across the state | Opinion

Today’s girls are navigating a world of uncharted challenges — balancing the pressures of school, family expectations and the overwhelming influence of social media.

Whether it’s the competition in schools or the demands they feel at home, many Florida girls are carrying heavy burdens without the support they need to succeed.

As CEO of Girl Scouts of Tropical Florida and a mother, I’ve seen how Girl Scouts can make a real difference in the lives of girls. We offer more than activities — we offer a space where girls can find their strength, their voice and their confidence.

In Florida, our schools are facing serious demands in providing the mental health support and tools our girls need. The Florida Department of Health reports that half of the 400,000 Florida youths are not getting the mental health services they need and deserve. Needless to say, many of those affected are girls.

This gap is where Girl Scouts steps in. We create a safe, supportive community where girls can connect with each other and their leaders, build resilience and grow into the confident, courageous individuals they are meant to be.

According to the State of the Florida Girl Report, a first-of-its-kind overview of all Florida girls’ well-being by the Girl Scouts of Florida Association, nearly half of all girls in Florida experienced feeling so sad or hopeless for at least two weeks out of the year that they stop participating in regular activities.

This sobering statistic underscores the need for us to come together as a community to uplift and empower our girls.

Through my eight years serving as CEO, I’ve witnessed how positive mentorship, strong bonds and community support can help girls face academic stress, emotional challenges and social pressures identified in the report.

In fact, nearly nine in 10 Girl Scouts in Florida say their troop leader cares about them as individuals, and over 80% say their leader makes them feel important. It’s these connections that help girls thrive, both mentally and emotionally.

The 76-page Florida Girl Report is an overview of girls’ lives in four overarching areas: physical health, academic performance, emotional wellness and social well-being.

Using primary data sources such as the U.S. Census, Centers for Disease Control and the Florida Department of Education, the report disaggregates data by gender to understand variances between girls and boys. When possible, we present girl-specific outcomes by race and ethnicity to offer a deeper understanding of a girl’s multidimensional identity.

Our programs are designed with mental wellness at their core. From the Social Butterfly Badge that empowers younger girls to build healthy relationships to the Feel the Arts Badge that helps older girls express their emotions creatively, Girl Scouts provides the skills girls need to navigate the complexities of growing up.

The Girl Scouts of Florida Association is made up of six individual Girl Scout councils, like the Tropical Council which serves girls in Miami-Dade and Monroe counties. Together, the councils provide girl-focused programming to 40,000 girls annually through the support of volunteers and contributions of donors and partners.

In December, we hosted the State of the Girl panel with community leaders highlighting the urgent need to invest in girls. Girls need and deserve resources and support to help them navigate their unique challenges.

This call to action is more timely than ever as we just celebrated Women’s History Month in March.

When we invest in our girls, we invest in the future of Florida. By providing the resources, support and love they need to succeed, we are creating a generation of resilient, confident leaders who will shape a brighter tomorrow. Let’s work together to ensure that every girl in Florida has the chance to grow up strong, empowered and ready to take on the world.

To learn more about the challenges facing Florida’s girls and how we can support their well-being, visit floridagirlscouts.org and explore the State of the Florida Girl Report.

Chelsea Wilkerson is the CEO of Girl Scouts of Tropical Florida.