ROANOKE, Va. – To celebrate the history American women are making in government, including the inauguration of the first woman vice president, Girl Scouts of the USA is making its program on how the government works free.
The Democracy Badge is one of Girl Scouts’ newer badges., having launched in 2020. Families usually have to pay for all the learning materials that come with it, but until Feb. 4, anyone can download it for free.
The booklet features historical information and data explain how local, state and national government works. The material is as age-appropriate as possible, teaching girls as young as kindergarten.
For those in the older age group, the booklet also discusses all three branches of government.
Nikki Williams, the CEO of Virginia Skyline Council, said making this booklet free is a way for young girls to not just learn, but to become empowered to continue making history.
“Right now for the 117th Congress, 122 women, representatives and delegates (in the House), will serve as a part of that congress and 55% of those are Girl Scouts. So it is an incredible time in women’s history and I believe we’re making history every day,” said Williams.
There are 24 women in the Senate.
Williams said Girl Scouts is all about helping girls become ambitious leaders in a variety of avenues including the U.S. government.
Through the future voters and 100th anniversary of women’s suffrage programming Williams said they realized girls were interested in a deeper understanding of their government.
She said that in a recent poll, only 39% of adults in our country can name the three branches of government and that’s why she believes the Democracy Badge and girls having free access to it is so important, whether they are a Girl Scout or not.
“We started really having conversations and realizing that if only 40% of adults know the basics about our democracy and how government works how much are our children learning and how much do they know,” said Williams.
There are different democracy badge booklets for each age group.
The badge will still be available after Feb. 4, but it will not be free.