World Thinking Day 2010

Each year on February 22, girls participate in activities, games and projects with global themes to honor their sister Girl Guides and Girl Scouts in other countries.

The theme for World Thinking Day 2010 was girls worldwide say "together we can end extreme poverty and hunger."

Click here to share what you, or your troop, did for World Thinking Day.

Here is what some troops did for World Thinking Day:

• Troop 4004 sewed over 250 teddy bears together, then took them to a Thinking Day Event where each girl attending got to stuff a bear and write encouraging notes to place in the bears pocket. Later these bears were sent to children in Haiti.
• Troop 2714 has been spending time learning about the Girl Guides in Egypt. They made Egyptian shortbread and mint tea to share with their sister scouts at World Thinking Day.
• Troop 5814 has been collaborating with the Amarillo Botanical Gardens to learn how to grow a vegetable garden. The girls will then put what they have learned to use by starting a vegetable garden where all vegetables grown will be donated to families in need.
• Troop 1420 wanted to help Haiti for World Thinking Day so they made "Hope for Haiti" swaps to hand out. Together they collected $82 from their cookies sales for Haiti relief, and another $197 at their Service Unit's Thinking Day Celebration. "Our Service Unit donated the Thinking Day profits as well, and now we have about $450 going to UNICEF for relief efforts."
• Troop 3370 planned a Thinking Day event for their Girl Scout Community. 19 troops ranging in all ages "traveled" around the world. The event, "Goodies Around the Globe," offered attending troops a chance to "visit" 18 countries and collect souvenirs(SWAPS). They also collected can/boxed food for the local food bank. Any proceeds that remained after the event was donated to the Juliette Low World Friendship fund.
• Troops 1458, 1410 and 1420 celebrated World Thinking Day with about 260 fellow Girl Scouts. The girls "traveled" to 19 countries to try local cuisine, completed a scavenger hunt and all got stamps in their "passports." The girls were led in the Flag and Golden Link Ceremony by troops 1458 and 1410 and troop 1420 sponsored Haiti. The profits and donations from Thinking Day was donated to UNICEF to help the children in Haiti.

Thinking Day was first created in 1926 at the fourth Girl Guide/Girl Scout International Conference held at Girl Scouts of the USA's Camp Edith Macy (now called Edith Macy Conference Center). Conference attendees decided that there should be a special day for Girl Scouts and Girl Guides from around the world to "think" of each other and give thanks and appreciation to their "sister" Girl Scouts. The delegates chose February 22 as the date for Thinking Day because it was the mutual birthday of Lord Baden-Powell, founder of the Boy Scout movement, and his wife, Olave, who served as World Chief Guide.

In 1932, at the seventh World Conference, held in Poland, a Belgian delegate suggested that since birthdays usually involve presents, girls could show their appreciation and friendship on Thinking Day not only by extending warm wishes but by offering a voluntary contribution to the World Association. This is how the World Association's Thinking Day Fund began. The fund helps offer Girl Guiding/Girl Scouting to more girls and young women worldwide. Girl Scouts of the USA, through its Juliette Low World Friendship Fund contributes to the World Thinking Day Fund.

To emphasize the global aspect of Thinking Day, members at the 30th World Conference, held in Ireland in 1999, changed the name from Thinking Day to World Thinking Day.

For more information on World Thinking Day 2010 check the World Thinking Day website or click here for the flier.