Today the word “investment” conjures up images of stock portfolios, mutual funds, venture capital, and so on. Of course, when most of us make a financial investment we expect to receive a monetary return on that investment in the future. But when we talk about investing in our children, we are talking about our collective future as a nation. In Girl Scouts, we invest in girls and young women because the Girl Scout program is a place where today’s girls become tomorrow’s leaders.

The return on Girl Scouting’s investment is clear. Consider this: a recent survey found that two-thirds of this country’s women of achievement – our doctors, lawyers, engineers, educators, astronauts, political leaders – were Girl Scouts when they were young. Sixty-four percent of the women listed in “Who’s Who of American Women” are Girl Scout alumnae, and two-thirds of the women in Congress were once Girl Scouts.

The girls of today reflect the face of the next generation – those who will be our leaders of tomorrow – Laurel Parker and Krystal Stevens of Bradford, whose Gold Award project was creating an organization called Students Against Substance Abuse at Central High School; or Gold Girl Scout Rebecca Robitaille of Cherryfield who made a difference in the lives of the veterans at Togus Veterans Hospital; or Junior Girl Scout 267 of Franklin who planted and tended a garden to grow food for the Emmau homeless center in Ellsworth; or Beth Dowling of Machias who taught 150 younger girls to love music as part of her Girl Scout Gold Award project; or Millinocket Cadette Girl Scouts Lindsay Wyman and Kristen Bradbury who organized a day camp program for young girls in their town last summer; or Junior Girl Scout Morgan Rice of Harmony who was awarded the Girl Scout Lifesaving Award for saving the life of her younger sister; or any of the other 7,000 Abnaki Girl Scouts who make a difference in their communities every day.

We will continue to honor the nearly 90-year legacy of Girl Scouting’s founder, Juliette Gordon Low, by making Girl Scouting available to girls in every town and in every corner of Abnaki Girl Scout Council who want to discover the fun, friendship and power of girls together.

As investors, adults need to ante up. The role adults play in shaping the lives of girls cannot be overstated. Adults are critical to the success of girls and young women. Each of us – whether we’re parents, other relatives, teachers, neighbors, or youth leaders – play an important role in their lives. We serve as role models, mentors and, perhaps most importantly, as listeners for girls.

The need for adults to listen to girls and young women was made crystal clear in a ground-breaking study last fall from the Girl Scout Research Institute, the newly launched research division of our national organization. The study found that adults aren’t listening to girls, although girls want and need to speak out about issues that affect and concern them.

Disturbing findings, indeed. Girls have a lot to say and their needs are important. The study makes clear that it’s time for all of us to listen, whether we’re parents, teachers, or other adults involved in the growth and development of girls.

Girl Scouting has always provided an accepting and nurturing environment for girls, a place where caring adult mentors listen to girls’ views, needs and concerns. Girls grow strong in Girl Scouting – they develop strong values, a social conscience, and a conviction about their own self-worth. In that same spirit, we in Girl Scouting implore everyone to listen to what girls have to say.

Your business card may not list “mentor” in your job title, but if you are important in the life of a young girl or young woman, then you play an important role in her development. No matter who you are, each one of us has the opportunity to be a mentor to a young person. Consider it your smartest investment in the future – an investment in our leaders of tomorrow. Be there for a girl today, model what it means to be strong for a girl today and listen to her today. Make an investment in the future right now.

We owe it to this generation and to those who follow. This is our investment in the future – a payback for the investment made in years past in each one of us, by others who were excellent role models and listeners. This return on our nation’s girls is one that is guaranteed to keep on giving.

As the Girl Scouts in your town celebrate Girl Scout Week, March 11-17, take a moment to consider the many contributions Girl Scouting has made in the lives of girls over our 89 year history and join us in saying happy birthday to all the Abnaki Girl Scouts.

Jo Stevens is the executive director of the Abnaki Girl Scout Council in Brewer.