Girl Scouts of Hawaiʻi aims to double participation with new statewide troop model

Girl Scouts of Hawai‘i is launching a statewide membership drive this August with the goal of doubling participation by establishing a troop on every public elementary school campus in the state.

To achieve this, the organization plans to hire and fund trained facilitators who will oversee clusters of troops in nearby schools—each facilitator supporting around 10 troops and up to 150 girls. The approach expands a model currently operating at 25 Title I campuses, blending the traditional volunteer-led troop structure with professional staff to reduce barriers to participation.

“Every year we have a long waitlist of girls who want to become Girl Scouts, but no nearby troop to place them and no volunteer willing to lead a new troop,” said Dr. Kanoe Nāone, CEO of the Girl Scouts of Hawaiʻi. “This model ensures that every school that says yes to Girl Scouts will have a troop—guaranteed.” 

Girls in the program will have access to a wide range of experiences, including coding workshops, environmental stewardship projects, financial literacy through the Girl Scout Cookie Program and cultural learning rooted in Hawaiian values. Whether they’re learning how to paddleboard on Maui, build a robot on O‘ahu, build a fire at camp on the Big Island or kui a lei on Molokaʻi, Girl Scouts are empowered to grow into confident, capable leaders.

The initiative covers all major islands—Kaua‘i, O‘ahu, Lāna‘i, Moloka‘i, Maui and Hawai‘i Island—and Girl Scouts of Hawai‘i is currently looking for candidates and hiring 12 full-time staff: two on Maui, three on Hawai‘i Island, one on Kaua‘i and six on O‘ahu. GHS said that more staff will be added if additional schools join the effort.

Girls who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch will receive full scholarships that include membership fees, uniforms, badges and camp opportunities at no cost.

“Girl Scout membership has declined nationwide over the past two decades, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic,” Nāone said. “But we believe Girl Scouts of Hawai‘i has the answer. Think of it like Blockbuster versus Netflix—it’s time to evolve and meet families where they are understanding that in Hawaiʻi the majority of families need two incomes and don’t have a lot of free time to volunteer.” 

In the traditional model, parents typically serve as troop leaders. Under the new hybrid model, each troop will still need a volunteer cookie manager and treasurer, but those roles require significantly less time commitment.

If all 189 public elementary schools statewide agree to host a troop, Girl Scouts of Hawaiʻi says it has the capacity to scale staffing and resources to meet the demand and ensure every interested girl can participate.

To learn more about GSH or support the initiative, visit www.gshawaii.org.