Editor’s note: This is part of a series on agencies that receive funding from Bryan County United Way.

Bryan County Girl Scouts teaches girls (grades K-12) self confidence and leadership skills that they can use throughout their lives.

The Magnolia Service Unit in Bryan County, which is part of the Girl Scouts of Eastern Oklahoma, is receiving funding from the Bryan County United Way for the program “Powered Up.”

Nikki Wolf, membership executive for the Girl Scouts of Eastern Oklahoma, said “Powered Up” will be solely funded by the United Way. The Girl Scouts of Eastern Oklahoma serves a 30-county area.

The Girl Scouts is one of 14 local agencies that receive funds from Bryan County United Way. UW kicked off its fund drive recently and seeks to raise $150,000 in 2010. The organization is one of three new agencies that is being aided by the local UW.

Wolf said the eight-week long “Powered Up” program is aimed at eliminating bullying behavior. It also teaches girls and adults how to recognize bullying behavior and how they can effectively intervene. Lessons last one hour.

“Powered Up” includes a service-learning component, where students identify places in their schools that are safe and places where bullying is likely to happen, she said. Also, adults in the schools are encouraged to learn about what’s going on in their building and offer solutions.

She recently presented the program to Caddo schools. School officials have approved “Powered Up” for fourth and fifth grade girls during the spring semester, which will begin in January.

Wolf said the program, which is free of charge, will be offered during the school day. She also hopes to implement “Powered Up” in other schools in the county.

The “Powered Up” program will be led by Girl Scouts staff and local volunteers, Wolf said. Approximately 95 girls are in Bryan County’s Girl Scouts.

She said the “Powered Up” curriculum has been taught to other school districts, including Tulsa, McAlester and Muskogee. In 2008, about 563 girls went through the program.

Wolf said bullying can cause heightened anxiety, depression, thoughts of suicide and social isolation among children.

During a UW rally at GAMCO, located at One Gamco Place in Durant, Wolf said that approximately 160,000 students miss school because of bullying and 85 percent of bullying takes place in front of bystanders.

All it takes to curb bullying is for one person to step in and diffuse the situation, she said, adding that girls and boys bully differently.

She said students often don’t know how to handle a situation where someone is being bullied. The goal of “Powered Up” is to empower girls to step up against bullying.

“Bullying can have an impact on the rest of your life,” Wolf said.

Wolf related a story about one Girl Scout chapter that experienced bullying. The troop leader noticed that the girls were more afraid to speak out when one member was present. The problem was resolved after the troop went through the “Powered Up” program.

Aside from “Powered Up,” Girl Scouts also has a science, technology and math program, as well as troop events and community service, destination trips, camping and myriad of other activities, Wolf said.

Girl Scout activities teach outdoor skills, sewing, camping, environmental lessons, first aid, arts and life skills, Wolf said. Life lessons include self confidence, leadership skills the girls can carry with them for the rest of their lives and dealing with peer pressure. The group also discourages girls from using drugs, smoking and drinking alcohol.

Wolf said that only 1 percent of all Girl Scouts will go before a juvenile court as compared to the average, and Girl Scouts are 32 percent more likely than other girls to refuse alcohol at a party and 40 percent more likely not to cheat on a test.

Also, 72 percent of all Girls Scouts say that the GS Promise and Law help them in making good decisions in their lives, Wolf said.

The Girl Scout movement began on March 12, 1912, in Savannah, Ga., led by Juliette Gordon Low. The mission statement of the organization is “Girl Scouting builds girls of courage, confidence and charity who make the world a better place.”

The Bryan County Girl Scout group is part of a regional organization called a council, Wolf said. The first Girl Scout troop, the Sunflower Troop, began in Tulsa in 1917. The Tulsa Girl Scout Council formed in 1923, beginning with 15 troops, 21 leaders and 190 members.

In 1956, the Magic Empire Council was developed and was the largest council in Oklahoma. On June 1, 1008, the Girl Scouts of Eastern Oklahoma was formed by uniting Bluestem, Tiak and the Magic Empire councils to create a “high-capacity, high-performance council,” Wolf said.

Girl Scout Cookies® had their earliest beginnings in the kitchens and ovens of Girl Scout members, with mothers volunteering as technical advisers. The sale of cookies as a way to finance troop activities began as early as 1917, Wolf said. The earliest mention of a cookie sale was that of the Mistletoe Troop in Muskogee, which baked cookies and sold them in its high school cafeteria as a service project in December 1917.

“Girl Scouts is one of the safest environments where girls can just relax,” Wolf said about the organization. She has been with Girl Scouts 17 years — 11 of those as a volunteer.

Currently, approximately 9,000 girls and 3,000 adults are in the Girl Scouts of Eastern Oklahoma. The Bryan County branch has approximately 150 girls and 45 adult volunteers this year. Girl Scouts meet every one or two weeks, depending on the troop.

Adults interested in becoming troop leaders must go through an application form process and a background check before they can be approved. Volunteers must be 18 or older and out of high school, Wolf said.

“It’s a wonderful experience for girls and families to be able to be a part of [Girl Scouts],” she said, adding that the organization makes a difference in girls’ lives every day.

For more information about Girl Scouts of Eastern Oklahoma, call Wolf at (918) 423-0826, ext. 504, or visit

the Web site at www.GirlScoutsEastOK.org.