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Girl Scouts return $100k donation after donor requests it not be used to support transgender girls

Girl Scouts return $100k donation after donor requests it not be used to support transgender girls

One hundred thousand dollars is a lot of money. It can help students through college, buy a car (or two), and it can help send 500 Girl Scouts to camp.

But the exciting news of a $100,000 donation made out to the Queen Anne council of the Girl Scouts of Western Washington quickly turned sour when the donor sent a note: “Please guarantee that our gift will not be used to support transgender girls. If you can’t, please return the money,” it said, the council’s CEO, Megan Ferland reported to the Seattle Met.

Soon after receiving the note, Ferland returned the money to the donor, whom she she has chosen not to name. Disappointed by the situation, Ferland had a simple response, telling the Seattle Met, “Girl Scouts is for every girl. And every girl should have the opportunity to be a Girl Scout if she wants to.”

Coming that close to such a substantial donation was certainly a tough pill to swallow, so the Girl Scouts of Western Washington has launched an Indiegogo fundraising page asking for donations to make up for the money returned to the unnamed donor. As of June 30, the troop has gathered more than $80,000.

The fight for transgender rights is not new to the Girl Scouts. In 2011, the non-profit organization made headlines when a Denver scout leader allowed a 7-year-old transgender child into the troop.

“There is not one type of girl,” blogged Andrea Bastiani Archibald, Ph.D., Chief Girl Expert for Girl Scouts USA. “Every girl’s sense of self, path to it, and how she is supported is unique.

“As we face a complex and rapidly changing 21st century, our nation needs all girls to reach their full potential, which has been our focus for more than 103 years.”