Pros
The organization is a respected, long standing tradition in American culture. I have seen the organization make a positive impact in the lives of many girls.
Cons
The organization is rotting from within. It claims to be streamlining and turning towards the future but it is a mess. It can't decide if it's a cookie & camping club, a "girl power" club, or both. There's an internal struggle within the company between the old guard and the younger set who can see that it's out of touch with the majority of today's girls. The recent decision to reorganize the local councils has been a complete mess, regardless of what GSUSA's PR machine says. Many of us have left the organization because we couldn't put up with the chaos and the b.s. anymore. I felt dirty bringing home a salary earned on the backs of little girls selling cookies (a full 55% of the council's operating budget was due to cookie revenue.) It's especially offensive when these many of these girls (depending upon what council you're in) can't use their cookie money for camp, and the money is sent right back to the troop leaders, who may use it at their discretion. And as much as I understand that no business can operate without sufficient income, this organization has in the past 10-20 years sharply turned from being primarily interested in the well being of girls to being interested only in a buck. Anyone who disagrees hasn't seen the way the company truly works from the inside. I am a 25-year Girl Scout, have held 5 or 6 positions within the organization and each year things just got more and more discouraging. I don't see them improving any time soon.
