What does it take to change a community? When the right partners team up, the benefits are exponential. Take a look at an innovative program that took off when Girl Scouts of the USA and Springboard joined forces to benefit rural communities nationwide.

Partnerships Strengthen Communities: Springboard and Girl Scouts of the USA

Springboard Innovation and Girl Scouts of the USA have teamed up to build leadership skills among teen girls in rural communities across the United States.

Challenge and Change: Challenge Yourself, Change the World
Challenge and Change is an innovative leadership program in its third year, serving hundreds of girls and rural communities in 25 states across the United States. Working with Girl Scouts in Rural Communities, Springboard has developed the multimedia curriculum and trained adult facilitators to successfully implement the program.

Strengthening Rural Communities Through Girl Leadership
Through Challenge and Change, girls envision and launch long-term projects that address local issues. The program begins with a five-day retreat where girls come together to learn leadership, problem solving, and entrepreneurial skills. After the retreat, additional learning modules offer support and ongoing skill-building.

Social Entrepreneurship—Not Just for Adults
Girls learn to apply the strategies of successful social entrepreneurs. They see social entrepreneurs in action by watching and analyzing episodes from The New Heroes, the PBS documentary series about effective social entrepreneurs from around the world. To bring the topic closer to home, girls also take field trips to meet social entrepreneurs in their own local communities.

Sustaining Innovation
Challenge and Change teaches girls the skills to identify community problems they care about, recognize and build on local assets, and design a sustainable solution and action plan. After the retreat, girls return home and recruit a community action team—including an adult who serves as their community champion—to turn their good idea into a sustainable, long-term project.

Training Women to Create Girl Leaders