Celebrating Scouting in 2012

The Postal Service will salute the Girls Scouts in 2012 by commemorating the 100th anniversary of an organization credited with helping girls build character and leadership skills. The Celebrate Scouting Forever Stamp can be seen on social media and will be issued next year as part of the centennial celebration.

Using social media to reach broader, more diverse audiences is an initiative that began this month to engage more interest in stamp collecting. Select stamps from the 2012 commemorative program will be previewed one at a time throughout the summer.

The stamp features the silhouette of a girl with binoculars looking into the distance. A scene within the silhouette features a girl in mid-stride with a walking stick and backpack on a summer trek. The environment is composed of large redwoods, a lake and a distant forested mountainside with small ferns in the foreground. The sky has a dramatic blue gradation as it appears in early morning or late evening.

Since the birth of the scouting movement more than a century ago millions of youths have learned to find their way in the world with the skills and confidence they acquired through scouting. Some of the first scouting experiences provided opportunities to hike, camp, study first aid, and learn to tell time by the stars.

While scouts still enjoy those activities, today they benefit from the latest advances in science and technology, with outdoor experiences offering opportunities to study ecology and discover new ways to protect the planet.