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Once A Girl Scout, Always A Girl Scout!
Are you one of the 50 million women who were once Girl Scouts? Have you ever volunteered for the Girl Scouts? If so, we invite you to reconnect with the organization that helped make you the remarkable woman you are today.
Sign up to be included in The Green Directory, a secure online directory of women who share the Girl Scout experience and values. Encourage your sisters, girlfriends, and coworkers to sign up too so that we can reconnect 100,000 former Girl Scouts in time for our 100th Anniversary in 2012!
As a Girl Scouts of Greater Los Angeles Alumnae Association Member, you will enjoy:
- The confidence that your donation makes a difference in the lives of 40,000 girls from diverse backgrounds
- Full access to The Green Directory to build new friendships and expand your network
- Monthly e-newsletter with updates on programs and events
- Invitations to Member Mixers, 100th Anniversary Events, and GSGLA signature events
- Opportunity to mentor current Girl Scouts and younger alumnae
Lifetime membership is $250 and annual membership is $25*. This is a tax-deductible donation. Complete the Alumnae Association membership form and join today!
*Membership of the national Girl Scouts of USA is an additional $300 for lifetime membership or $12 for annual membership. National membership is required for some volunteering activities. For further information, visit http://alumnae.girlscouts.org/.
Emerald Spotlight
The GSGLA Emerald Spotlight that recognizes a Girl Scout alumna who shows courage, confidence, and character in her current role as a community leader.
Erin Gruwell
Educator and Founder of the Freedom Writers Foundation
Erin Gruwell has earned awards for her steadfast commitment to the future of education. Her impact as a change agent runs deep. So deep, in fact, that her story attracted Hollywood’s attention. In January 2007, Paramount Pictures released Freedom Writers, starring two-time Oscar winner Hilary Swank as Erin. The film is based on The Freedom Writers Diary, the New York Times bestseller that chronicles Erin’s extraordinary journey with 150 high school students who had been written off by the education system.
By fostering an education philosophy that valued and promoted diversity, Erin transformed her students’ lives. She encouraged them to re-think rigid beliefs about themselves and others, to reconsider daily decisions, and ultimately to re-chart their futures. With Erin’s support, they chose to forego teenage pregnancy, drugs, and violence to become aspiring college students, published writers, and citizens for change. They dubbed themselves the “Freedom Writers” in homage to civil rights activists.
Inspired by Anne Frank, Erin and her students captured their collective journey in The Freedom Writers Diary. Through poignant student entries and Erin’s narrative text, the book records their eye-opening, spirit-raising odyssey against intolerance and misunderstanding. In early 2007, Teach With Your Heart, Erin’s powerful memoir and call to arms, was published.
While Erin has been credited with giving her students a second chance, it was perhaps she who changed the most during her tenure at Wilson High School in Long Beach, CA. She decided to channel her classroom experiences toward a broader cause, and today her impact as a teacher extends well beyond Room 203. Erin founded the Freedom Writers Foundation where she currently trains teachers around the country in how to implement her innovative lesson plans into their own classrooms. Recently, Erin’s teaching methods from her time in Room 203 have been published in The Freedom Writers’ Diary Teacher’s Guide.
Erin and her students have appeared on numerous television shows, including Oprah, Prime Time, Live with Connie Chung, Barbara Walters, The View, and Good Morning America. Their story has earned them dozens of awards, including The Spirit of Anne Frank Award.
Erin is a graduate of the University of California at Irvine, where she received the Lauds and Laurels Distinguished Alumni Award. She earned her master’s degree and teaching credentials from California State University at Long Beach, where she was honored as distinguished Alumna by the School of Education.
Erin Gruwell was a Girl Scout growing up and the tradition of Girl Scouting and continues in her life today. Her sister is currently a troop leader for Erin’s niece, Emma.
Previous Emerald Spotlight Recipients
Linda Segal, January 2011 
Cyd Brandvein, February 2011
Geraldine Lewis, March 2011
Hiromi Asada, May 2011
Kathryn Knight, July 2011 
Barbara Hacker, October 2011
You Never Stop Being A Girl Scout
Girl Scouts of Greater Los Angeles CEO Lise L. Luttgens
talks about Girl Scouting and giving back. (June 2011)
If you have any questions about reconnecting with the Girl Scouts, please contact Julie Lovelock, Manager of Alumnae Relations, at (626) 677-2249 or jlovelock@girlscoutsla.org. We look forward to getting to know you better!