Girls can learn important cutting-edge life skills in cybersecurity, robotics, environmental advocacy, space exploration, and more.
Girl Scouts – North Carolina Coastal Pines announces the launch of 30 new Girl Scout badge offerings and two new Journeys in the coming program year. These will provide girls with even more opportunities to gain the skills that they need to make a difference and unleash their inner G.I.R.L. (Go-getter, Innovator, Risk-taker, Leader). The new badges are available for girls ages 5-18, with different programming for grades K-5 and 6-12.
Girl Scouts is always evaluating and enhancing programming for girls so that they can connect, grow, and become their best selves. As the world’s largest girl-led organization, Girl Scout programming is based on what girls find most engaging, relevant, and enjoyable. Combined with existing programs, these new Journeys and badges help girls empower themselves to unleash their inner strengths and accomplish amazing things.
The new badges cover a variety of topics with activities ranging from programming a robot to devising a game plan to get into the college of her dreams. The new life skills badge is all about college preparation, and Girl Scout Ambassadors (grades 10-12) walk through the 
admissions process, financial aid, and test preparation so that they feel adequately prepared for life beyond high school. There are many new STEM badges, including the Cybersecurity badge where girls apply the concepts of safety and protection to the technology they use daily; and Space Science, where girls learn about the Solar System and their place in it. For the STEM Journeys, girls take their badges to the next level by completing a service project using the skills that they learned. The new outdoor badge is Environmental Stewardship, and encourages girls to learn about and care for the planet with a goal of minimizing their ecological impact outdoors.
According to the Girl Scout Research Institute (GSRI), girls who participate in Girl Scouts are more than twice as likely to exhibit community problem-solving skills than girls who do not. Programming in STEM, outdoors, and life skills helps girls to discover their passions and grow comfortable in taking the lead. When girls are given the opportunity to try new things in a safe, all-girl, and girl-led environment, girls feel more comfortable taking risks and challenging themselves, creating the female leaders of tomorrow that will break glass ceilings and change the world.
For more information on the Girl Scout Leadership Program, new badges, and to start your Girl Scout adventure, please visit www.nccoastalpines.org.
About Girl Scouts – North Carolina Coastal Pines
Girl Scouts – North Carolina Coastal Pines is largest girl-led leadership development program in central and eastern North Carolina, reaching over 26,000 girls and 9,000 adult volunteers across 41 central and eastern North Carolina counties. Girl Scouts helps develop leaders of tomorrow by empowering girls to take on bold challenges, discover their passions and strengths, and explore programming like STEM, entrepreneurship, environmental leadership, take-action projects, and global citizenship. Today’s Girl Scouts learn to lead with courage, confidence, and character to make their communities and the world a better place. The council’s administrative headquarters is located in Raleigh, with additional program and service centers located in Goldsboro, Fayetteville, and Wilmington. To volunteer, reconnect, donate, or join, visit www.nccoastalpines.org or call (800) 284-4475.
