DALLAS, Texas — Philanthropist MacKenzie Scott, former wife of Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos who owns a 4% stake in Amazon, set out on a mission to help the Girl Scouts of the USA, the girls who make the world a better place.
Scott donated $84.5 million to Girl Scouts of the USA and 29 Girl Scout councils with $3.8 million going to the Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas.
“This is the largest gift ever to the Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas. It's the largest gift to the Girl Scouts of the USA and it says so much for MacKenzie Scott to make a gift like that to support girls and women,” Girl Scout CEO Jennifer Bartkowski said. “There's nothing else like it and hopefully it will turn the tide for the future.”
Bartkowski said Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas has developed a four-point strategic plan, which includes becoming a trusted partner in the community, optimizing Girl Scout processes, re-imagining their camps and expanding programming to rural communities.
Recently, the GSNETX has partnered with Monitor Institute with Deloitte to re-image the 110-year-old institution with the center focus on community engagement, volunteering alongside with diversity, equity and access and organizational readiness.
“This evolution is going to require all of us and there is no better way to improve a community in my mind than to invest in a girl,” Bartkowski said. “Those girls are going to lead families are going to lead schools, they're going to lead communities they're going to lead companies and that's the best way you can change your community.”
