Yesterday, the Seattle Met reported that the Girl Scouts of Western Washington returned a $100,000 donation after the donor requested that the money not be spent on transgender youth.
“Girl Scouts is for every girl,” Megan Ferland, the council’s chief executive, told the donor. “And every girl should have the opportunity to be a Girl Scout if she wants to.”
The Girl Scouts of Colorado took heat from some parents for taking such a clear stand in support of transgender girls, but Ferland wasn’t worried about blowback then, reported Seattle Met. And she isn’t now. “This is the right thing to do, so there was not anything else to do other than return the gift,” she says. “And we need the $100,000 back so we can serve more girls. So we’re going to do everything we can to raise that money. And if it raises a ruckus, it raises a ruckus.
And raise the money they did. As of 9:30 a.m. today, the Girl Scouts had surpassed their $100,000 goal.
On their Web site the Girl Scouts are quite clear about inclusion of transgender girls. stating: “Girl Scouts is proud to be the premiere leadership organization for girls in the country. Placement of transgender youth is handled on a case-by-case basis, with the welfare and best interests of the child and the members of the troop/group in question a top priority. That said, if the child is recognized by the family and school/community as a girl and lives culturally as a girl, then Girl Scouts is an organization that can serve her in a setting that is both emotionally and physically safe.”
