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United Way Helps Girl Scouts Make a Difference


Mississippi College English professor Susan Lassiter

Girl Scouts leaders build courage, confidence, character and life skills for its nearly three million members worldwide.

Founded in 1912 in Savannah, Georgia, Girl Scouts today reaches people in 92 countries. One of its 59 million alumnae is Mississippi College English professor Susan Lassiter.

“We concentrated on gathering life skills and making a difference in the community,” Lassiter says. “My times in the Girl Scouts led me in directions I only dreamed of as a child.”

Susan’s love for the Girl Scouts began when she joined as a second grader, starting with the Brownies in Troop 4 in Clinton. Her faithful scouting service continued through her senior year of high school.

Along the way, Lassiter coordinated a troop fashion show, wrote a three-act play about international spies, and collected gifts for Jackson orphanages. She visited the elderly, earned baking and sewing badges, did community service for Goodwill Industries and learned valuable leadership skills, too.

An award-winning educator, Lassiter strongly believes in Mississippi College’s United Way drive this fall. The campaign helps the Girl Scouts and nearly three dozen other agencies across metro Jackson. Launched in early October by President Lee Royce, MC seeks to raise $25,000 from faculty and staff prior to the Christmas holidays.

Lassiter is a firm believer that Girls Scouts remains a tremendous experience for today’s youth. It was for the young Mississippi girl a rewarding place where “life skills were taught and learned,” long-lasting friendships were formed, and important lessons were passed along to the next generation.

Coordinating the Girl Scout Troop fashion show, she said, proved to be a nice career stepping stone. Her first job after college was working as an assistant to a fashion director at a local department store.

Lassiter cites a few of the statistics pointing to the amazing success of the Girl Scouts for more than a century. About 80 percent of America’s female business owners were Girl Scouts, she notes with pride. An estimated 90 percent of parents say their daughters are more confident due to the Girl Scouts.

Her Girl Scout experiences were so varied – from being among the Girls Scouts certified in First Aid skills by the Red Cross to reading books. She learned to cook outdoors at campfires. Susan mastered the art of “tin foil” dinners.

These days, many people know of the Girl Scouts through their annual cookie sales. But the non-profit Girl Scouts of Mississippi is much more than that.

The Girl Scouts oath tells what the 104-year-old organization is made of. “To serve God and my country, to help people at all times and to live by the Girl Scouts Law.”

Juliette Gordon “Daisy” Low, a nearly deaf 51-year-old, organized the first Girl Scout Troop in Savannah in 1912. Today, the New York-based organization consists of 112 councils. One of them is the group in Mississippi located at 1471 West County Line Road in Jackson. The Girl Scouts always need volunteers to serve as mentors, do clerical tasks and help with upkeep of the grounds in the capital city.

Membership includes 1.9 million girls across the globe and 800,000 adult volunteers.

It’s easy to see why Susan Lassiter gives high marks to the Girl Scouts. At her Jennings Hall office, the MC professor points to the many alumnae who are successful in entertainment, law, the medical field, business, education and other professions.

Lassiter was among the recent participants of a Clinton Troop 4 reunion. Members of the local Girls Scouts troop relived fond memories of riding in Mississippi College Homecoming Parades in the 1960s.

Lessons of community service she first learned at Girl Scouts remains part of Susan’s DNA. Away from the Clinton campus, Lassiter teaches classes at a prison in Mississippi. It’s just another sign that Girls Scouts can change the world.

For more information on the Girl Scouts Council of Mississippi, contact volunteer coordinator Christy Bridges at 601-326-5650 or go to the website gsgms.org