NEW YORK — With an assist from first lady Michelle Obama, the Girl Scouts of the USA is launching an unorthodox recruitment campaign this week aimed at reversing a long-running decline in participation.
Instead of placing ads on TV, in newspapers and on billboards, the campaign will unfold in neighborhood initiatives and on social media as Girl Scout councils directly target elementary school girls — even kindergartners — with promises of adventuresome fun.
The first lady is pitching in with a video in which she lauds the contributions of the Girl Scouts and urges adults to find the time to help out.
“In order to bring the fun to more girls, Girl Scouts need you to volunteer,” she says. “You can show girls that anything is possible.”
The campaign launch follows a trying stretch for the Girl Scouts, who celebrated their centennial in 2012 but have confronted difficulties this year. The organization has about 2.2 million youth members, down from 2.9 million in 2003. Over the same span, the ranks of adult volunteers have dwindled from 986,000 to 890,000. The Associated Press
