Jo Ann Taylor Kindle, President of Enterprise Holdings Foundation, together with the Crawford Taylor Foundation made a total of $3.5 million in donations to The Girl Scouts of Eastern MO, which will be invested in an endowment that provides the necessary funds to support the organization’s Community Troop Program in perpetuity.
Taylor Kindle made a milestone gift in the amount of $2 million. The gift is the single largest contribution to Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri in the organization’s history.
The Crawford Taylor Foundation gift includes $250,000, which will support the Community Troop Program for the 2017-18 program year. The remaining $1.25 million is directed to the endowment for the Community Troop Program.
“Their unprecedented commitment to lifting up our next generation of leaders will make an immense difference not only in the lives of today’s girls, but for generations to come,” said Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri CEO Bonnie Barczykowski. “The first Girl Scout troop was formed in eastern Missouri in 1918, and as we look to our next 100 years, the support from Jo Ann Taylor Kindle and the Crawford Taylor Foundation will enable us to provide leadership development opportunities for more girls across our region. More girls now have the opportunity to develop the skills to achieve their dreams.”
The Community Troop Program was piloted in spring 2015 with the goal of providing the traditional Girl Scout Troop experience in areas where 75-percent of students receive free or reduced lunches and adult volunteer troop leadership had been historically low or nonexistent. The program expanded for the 2015-2016 school year with the addition of six full-time staff members to serve as troop leaders to more than 2,500 girls.
The Community Troop Program offers girls a robust Girl Scout experience. Girls participate in traditional Girl Scout activities including community service projects, the Cookie Program, National Badge Curriculum, and activities within Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri’s three Focus Areas: STEM (science, technology, engineering and math), Money Management and Health. Troops meet in schools, community centers, or in collaboration with non-profit organizations, twice each month.
“We are very grateful to Jo Ann Taylor Kindle and the Crawford Taylor Foundation for their meaningful contributions and are honored to be recognized for our mission of building girls of courage, confidence and character who make the world a better place,” Barczykowski said.
