Girl Scouts of Tropical Florida, Inc.

Girl Scouts of Tropical Florida was founded in 1923 and currently serves nearly 3,000 girls in grades K-12 from every zip code across Miami-Dade and Monroe counties. We build girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place.

Girl Scouts of Tropical Florida (GSTF)'s mission is to build girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place. Throughout its history, Girl Scouts has provided a transformative experiential learning process that helps girls develop the core leadership skills they need to become successful adults. 

The year was 1912 and a determined and courageous woman had an idea that would change the course of history. The idea was simple: What would happen if girls believed that they could do anything? Juliette Gordon Low wanted to find out and founded the Girl Scouts with a small troop of 18 girls in Savannah, Georgia. Going against the grain at the time, she wanted to ensure that all girls, regardless of class, cultural, and ethnic boundaries, had a place to develop their skills, grow their self-confidence, and turn their dreams into reality. The idea resonated with girls and became a movement as new troops were formed across the U.S. 

On June 14, 1923, the Girl Scouts movement officially reached Miami-Dade County. In 1929, Judge Edith M. Atkinson founded the Girl Scout Council of Dade County. On August 1, 1963, the Girl Scout Council of Dade County merged with the Florida Keys Girl Scout Council, Inc. becoming the Girl Scouts Council of Tropical Florida, Inc. For 100 years, Girl Scouts of Tropical Florida has been building female leaders in South Florida. Today, GSTF serves nearly 3,000 girls ages 5-17 in every zip code across Miami-Dade and Monroe Counties. 

GSTF remains South Florida’s only girls’ leadership development program serving girls 5-18 in every zip code of Miami during out-of-school hours that would otherwise be unsupervised by caring adults. While others may offer short-term or specific skills development opportunities, we deliver inimitable, transformational evidence-based curricula for girls. Through the Girl Scout Leadership Experience, girls learn about coding and advocacy, climate change and entrepreneurship. 

Girl Scouts is the place where today’s girls develop into the leaders of tomorrow. Whether she wants to be a scientist, a lawyer or an artist, every girl should have access to the tools and confidence to pursue her dreams. Through Girl Scouts, girls develop critical skills so that they can lead, thrive, and make the world a better place. They learn to problem solve and take a closer look at the world around them.

Through its fully subsidized Community Troops program established over 30 years ago, GSTF works to ensure that all girls who desire to, regardless of backgrounds, abilities, statuses, races and ethnicities, can fully participate in leadership development programs. The Community Troops program currently serves includes 500 girls from 19 historically excluded Miami communities. Community Troops fills the gap in these communities by providing high-quality, girl-led education enrichment and leadership development.

The council has served more than half a million girls since 1923 in the diverse and vibrant South Florida community. The story of GSTF mirrors much of the history of South Florida. GSTF shares South Florida’s legacy of strong female leadership such as Miami’s founder, Julia Tuttle—female pioneers who blazed trails and cleared the way for those who followed in their footsteps.

Today, GSTF aims to ensure that Juliette Gordon Low’s idea—that girls can do anything—continues to empower girls in South Florida. Forming a lasting impact on the community and environment, GSTF is working to create strong, socially conscious leaders that make the world a better place, one girl at a time. Girl Scouts of Tropical Florida aims to develop the next generation of girl leaders, confident and well-equipped to contribute to and lead our industries and communities into the future.