Community Troops

Gamma Sigma is a unique leadership opportunity offered to under-served, high-school-aged girls. Each chapter operates as a school-sponsored club that engages girls in advocacy, leadership, community service, career and college readiness, and other life skills.

Girl Scouts Beyond Bard, or Troop 1500, is a Girl Scout troop designed specifically for girls whose mothers are currently or were previously incarcerated. When the bond between mother and daughter is interrupted – or in some cases severed – by incarceration, the damage can be devastating and life-altering. So much is uncertain in the lives of girls who mothers are incarcerated, but we provide our girls with safe places, resources, and support to help them recognize the power they possess.

Through bimonthly troop meetings, monthly prison visits, individual mentoring with positive female role models, individual and group therapy, and assistance with family and community reunification, Girl Scouts Beyond Bars strives to reduce the trauma suffered as a result of separation and seeks to lessen the likelihood of girls participating in high-risk behaviors and/or entering the juvenile justice system. The program works to break the cycle of intergenerational criminality and facilitate a healthy bond between mother and daughter. In the 17-year history of Troop 1500, none of the participating girls have entered into the juvenile justice system.

Discovery Girls extends the documented benefits of Girl Scouting to girls from low-income backgrounds, with the goal of helping girls reach their fullest potential by enhancing their self-esteem, leadership, and life skills in a caring, supportive environment. The program reaches girls, grades K-5, at local schools, temporary shelters, public housing sites, and other community organizations, in Greater Austin, Brownwood, and Waco.

Our HACA program is named for its partnership with the Housing Authority of the City of Austin and its service to girls whose families are on the waiting list for Section 8 housing. The program currently supports 116 girls at seven public housing sites in Austin. Girls participating in the HACA program meet weekly after school to discuss their needs, concerns, and growing pains in a safe environment. They also occasionally participate in weekend field trips, as well as summer day and residential camps, all of which complement the program curriculum. The HACA program’s intensive after-school programming allows girls to become more conscious community members, healthier young adults, and leaders in the classroom and the community. 

SISTERS is an acronym for Stay in School to Enjoy Real Success. SISTERS is an original program conceived, developed, and implemented in San Angelo since 2006. The program is unique in its dedication to following girls as they progress through middle and high school encouraging them to stay in school, graduate, and pursue their dreams for the future.

Tech Girls is a weekly after-school program for middle and high school girls that aims to excite and engage them in STEM fields (science, technology, engineering and math). Tech Girls uses a hands-on curriculum to engage girls in STEM and encourage them to choose STEM-related education and career paths.