What are You Doing for Others?
January 12, 2026
Monday, January 19, Martin Luther King’s celebratory birthday is officially known as a Day of Service. Dr King is known for so many iconic acts of good from his “I Have a Dream” speech to his peaceful acts of disobedience to bring about legislative changes to make equality among Americans a reality. He was a man of peace stricken down by an assassin, sadly, but his legacy of bringing grace, charity, and love to our world will never be forgotten, which is a good thing. Our Girl Scouts honor his legacy this weekend and always will. I memorized a lot of Dr King’s quotes because they are so compelling. He was a giant on Earth. One of my very favorite quotes apropos to this week is this one: “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?”
It may be a question difficult to answer for many, but not for a Girl Scout. We answer it daily. Our highest awards are based on service. Many of our badges require it. We have leadership awards that require acts of service, and our Promise and Law demand it. The Promise is straight up “to help other people.” I think while Girl Scouts came into being well before Dr Martin Luther King Jr was born, we have been following his playbook our whole existence. It is like Juliette Gordon Low wanted to answer the question, ‘What are you doing for others?’” from day one. This question has been answered. A corollary to this quote is another great saying: ‘Everyone can be great, because anyone can serve,’ so we serve, and Girl Scouts are great.
I addressed a lot of iconic cookie volunteers recently who have been in the movement for a long time. It got me thinking a bit about our legacy. As I watch Campfire sadly disappear, and the Boy Scouts also shrink, two movements older than ours, I think of our resiliency. When I joined in 2018, we were over 2 million Girl Scouts nationally. We are at 1 million now, an awesome number overall, but not a big number in a nation of over 300 million. What I mentioned to the volunteers is how hard one has to work to keep a good thing going. My favorite pastime is college football, and I fell in love with the Nebraska Cornhuskers in the 1990s. They are beloved by their loyal fans—there was nothing bigger in the state from the 1970s to the 2000s. It has been hard times for the past two decades, and recently the team has not made a bowl game for the last four years—6 wins is needed for a bowl, and that is not a high bar. I went to their bowl game this year, and my team was crushed. It was not even competitive from the second half on, and I felt bad for the loyal fans there. Our Nebraska section was filled, and while we were not expected to win, the fans, mostly older fans looking for the glory of yesteryear, still travelled from afar. Their loyalty unshaken, yet I thought they deserved better.
Coming back to Girl Scouts, I hope never for this golden Girl Scout movement to shift to irrelevance. It is too important not only for the confidence it gives Girls to become successful young women, but for the dedication of service that we provide. We are but a few of the movements globally whose DNA is to serve others. I never hope to see the day when the iconic volunteers see only fading shadows of our movement. Girl Scouts are so much more important than a football team; it is a great movement defined by Dr King and is as relevant as ever. This Martin Luther King’s Day, let us rededicate ourselves to our core principle of helping others. That will keep us great and ensure our relevance and winning record for years to come. Long live Girl Scouts and acts of service!
