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SWE & the Girl Scouts of the USA

A National Partnership

In June, 2001, the Society of Women Engineers and the Girl Scouts of the USA signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to formalize our relationship at the national level of each organization. The three main points of this MOU are:

• The development of age-level specific materials and activities.

• The facilitation of ways for SWE members to serve as mentors and role models for Girl Scouts

• The establishment of mutual web links to facilitate collaborations at both local and national levels.

Information for Girl Scouts

PDF of Full Overview Guide

About SWE

The Society of Women Engineers has 10 regions in the United States and Puerto Rico. They are divided into sections that can either be professional sections or collegiate sections. Collegiate sections are based at a college or university. Additionally, SWE has the members at large (MAL) for those who do not live close enough to an active section to participate but still wish to be SWE members.

Engineering Your Future

At our annual SWE National Conference, we host a one-day GSUSA Destinations: Getaway called Engineering Your Future for Girl Scouts in grades 8-12. Participating girls have the opportunity to work in engineering design teams on an Interest Project Award, network with women engineers and attend the conference Career Fair with collegiate and professional SWE members. Like other destinations, this event requires an application as well as references. Up to 25 girls will be accepted.

The conference is held in different locations each year. Upcoming Engineering Your Future Getaways are:

Nashville, TN, Friday Oct 26, 2007

Baltimore, MD, Friday Nov 7, 2008

For more information or an application, contact us at girlscouts@swe.org.

Finding Your Local SWE Members

To find your local SWE section or MALs, go to the regions page where you will find a map of the regions which link to the regions pages. Then look for the Section nearest you. Career Guidance is what SWE calls our programs for girls and students.

We have some interesting activities that you can try out on your own on the Career Guidance Program page. For more help contact Esther Heller, chair, and Susan Anderson, co-chair, at girlscouts@swe.org.

Information for SWE Members

GSUSA has over 300 councils that deliver program to girls. Councils are made up of associations, which are made up of service units, which are made up of troops, which are made up of girls. There are 2.8 million girls in Girl Scouting. SWE sections could be working at any of these levels. To find your local Girl Scout Council, go to www.girlscouts.org and click on "Council Finder" which is at the top of the page. From there, you will find a map which links to a list of councils by state and contact information.

There are unique program levels in Girl Scouting and each has its own books and awards program. Girl Scouting believes strongly in age progression. To view more details about the Girl Scout Program Levels and Awards, you must sign in as a member and go to Member Resources. Under Girl Scouts USA Program Support, you will a list of awards for each program age level that SWE members can help girls earn. There is also a Girl Scout Workshop Module, to help you put together workshops, and some details on completing specific Girl Scout Awards.

“Girl Scouts" and other Girl Scout trademarks are registered trademarks of Girl Scouts of the USA and are used herein pursuant to license.