Happy 100th Birthday, Girl Scouts!

It all started with a belief that bringing girls out of their isolated home environments and into community service would help them develop into well-rounded young women.

One century later, you'll find Girl Scouts fanning out across the country raising money via Thin Mints and other classic cookie favorites. 

Monday marks 100 years since Juliette Gordon Low assembled 18 girls in Savannah, Ga. for the first local Girl Scout meeting, according to the Girl Scout website.

To celebrate this centennial milestone, Lanterman House, along with the LA Council's Heritage Committee, will feature a variety of historic photographs and uniforms, books, dolls and myriad other memorabilia. The exhibit, which runs through June 28, will lead visitors through the history of the Girl Scouts, how the organization responded to the challenges of the 20th century, and how it remains vibrant today, according to the Lanterman website.

Executive Director Melissa Patton said because Lanterman is the Crescenta Valley's history museum, she contacted the LA Council about collaborating on a celebration.

"There is a long and extremely active history of Girl Scouting in the Valley,'' Patton wrote in an email to Patch.

One hundred years ago, Girl Scouts hiked, played basketball, went on camping trips, learned how to tell time by the stars, and studied first aid. Today, Girl Scouts of the USA has a membership of more than 3.2 million girls and adults in every residential zip code and in 90 countries, the Girl Scouts website states. An estimated 60 million women in the United States are alumnae. The organization's goal is to give a voice to all girls, regardless of their background or neighborhood.

At lanterman on Sunday, all current and adult Girl Scouts are invited to a 100th Birthday Celebration. The event costs $5, runs from 1-3 p.m., and   includes a tour of the exhibition and refreshments. Current scouts will receive a patch.

Please RSVP at your unit meeting, or to Christie Crahan @ 818-378-7669, in La Cañada to Ellen @818-952-3030, and in La Crescenta to Kaila @ 818-808-3205.

For a list of events at local elementary schools this week, click here.