Today, Girl Scouts Hornets’ Nest Council announced a $1.1 million donation from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott. This generous gift is part of an $84.5 million donation awarded to Girl Scouts of the USA and 29 local councils selected by Scott, making this unprecedented investment the largest donation from a single individual in the national organization’s history.
“Ms. Scott’s generous gift to Girl Scouts of the USA, and separately to our Girl Scouts Hornets’ Nest Council, is a remarkable investment in our country’s girls and our future, said Tayuanee Dewberry, CEO of the Girl Scouts Hornets’ Nest Council. “This gift will enable our Council to embrace and provide services for many more Girl Scouts and volunteers. It is an exciting honor for our council to be recognized, but more exciting is what we will be able to do in support of the Girl Scouts’ mission to build girls of courage, confidence, and character.”
“We are so appreciative of this gift to Girl Scouts. This is a great accelerator for our ongoing efforts to help girls cultivate the skills and connections to lead in their own communities and globally,” said Sofia Chang, CEO of GSUSA. “We’re excited to demonstrate how this critical investment in girls will change the world – because when one girl succeeds, we all succeed.”
This gift to Girl Scouts Hornets’ Nest Council (GSHNC) will power leadership opportunities for girls through the advancement of the organization’s mission. This donation will enable GSHNC to expand its investment in girls and advance the organization’s recovery from the effects of COVID-19.
“Today’s challenges are complex, interconnected and more than ever, global. Solving them will demand collaborative leadership and innovative perspectives,” said Dewberry. “Girls represent humanity’s greatest untapped talent pool and investing in them will produce the greatest return in economic development, social progress, and public health, improving not only individual lives, but the fabric of society overall.
Locally, this generous donation will accelerate GSHNC’s initiatives that give girls the tools to become the next generation of powerful female leaders. The gift will be used to support the following areas:
- Program Innovation: Foster meaningful program innovation informed by the current interests and needs of girls to prepare them for their future including an expanded focus on career readiness and mental wellness. Part of this work is initiating more robust programming on leadership development and setting up girls for future success.
- Facility Improvement: Refocus on our facilities that host outdoor experience. This investment will provide our council to re-engage the process of building out our camp properties to include spaces that will enable more diverse, relevant programmatic experiences for girls in our communities.
- Improve Access: Ensure that all girls have access to the life changing impact of the Girl Scout Leadership Experience. This investment will assist us in broadening the impact of our organization in underserved and economically challenged areas of our footprint, especially rural areas.
About Girl Scouts Hornets’ Nest Council
Girl Scouts, Hornets’ Nest Council (GSHNC) received its first charter from the Girl Scouts of the U.S.A. in 1935. GSHNC is headquartered in Charlotte and currently serves 8,000 girls and adults in eight counties of North and South Carolina, which include Anson, Cabarrus, Mecklenburg, Montgomery, Rowan, Stanly, Union, and York (S.C.).
For more information on how to join, volunteer, reconnect or donate to Girl Scouts, visit www.hngirlscouts.org.