The Girl Scouts believe every G.I.R.L. (Go-getter, Innovator, Risk-taker, Leader)™ has the power to change the world. The Kappa Delta sorority honors Juliette Gordon Low’s 111-year-old legacy of inspiring young girls to be courageous, confident, and committed to impacting the world in a positive way.
Kappa Delta is a nationally recognized sisterhood that aims to build confidence and inspire action through the core pillars of friendship and loyalty, personal integrity, lifelong learning, and selfless service. Since 1998, Kappa Deltas have served as mentors and volunteers and hosted confidence-building programs, educational events, and other activities with Girl Scouts in their communities. The Kappa Delta Foundation contributes to the Girl Scout Gold Award program which provides scholarships to the highest recognized Girl Scouts.
Local leaders
The Kappa Delta chapter at Lehigh works directly with local Girl Scouts as mentors and volunteers to reinforce common values of honesty, integrity, friendship, and leadership and assist the girls in completing journey or badge requirements. Julia Contino ’25 serves as Kappa Delta’s director of community service at Lehigh and oversees its work with the Girl Scouts.
“The values of the Girl Scouts and the philanthropy of Kappa Delta align perfectly because of the shared passion for building courage, confidence, and character within young women,” says Contino. “Since 2013, when Kappa Delta joined Lehigh’s campus, we have scheduled two to three meetings per semester with the Girl Scouts. During these meetings, the Girl Scouts come to our chapter house to brainstorm or conduct an activity to complete a journey dedicated toward a specific theme that will reward them with a new badge.”
Last semester, they assisted the Girl Scouts in receiving their advocacy badge by holding two brainstorming sessions to learn about advocacy and access. Another event allowed the girls to create care packages for local domestic violence survivors through Turning Point of Lehigh Valley.
Lessons learned
“Working with the Girl Scouts the past few semesters has given me the opportunity to have genuine conversations about the hardships that come with being a young woman navigating education, relationships, and overall life.” Contino is grateful to have gained this perspective, which she says helped her prepare better meetings and events, creating a noticeable confidence boost in the scouts.
“Throughout last year, I recognized the personal growth of the Girl Scouts. At our first meeting, they were timid and very quiet. By the end of the year, they could easily have engaging conversations with our sisters and share their feelings openly.”
Bonnie Hall ’84 served on the board of directors for the Girl Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania from 2007 to 2011 and has personally witnessed the impact that mentorship offers young girls. “In my experience, the most important thing Girl Scouts brings to girls is the realization that they can be leaders. When girls see the very strong and successful young women of Kappa Delta, it helps them see what leadership looks like so they can aspire to leadership roles themselves.” 
The lessons have not been one sided. “While the Girl Scouts have grown from working with us, the Kappa Delta sisterhood has learned so much from the Girl Scouts,” says Contino, who also credits her personal growth to Kappa Delta sister Julia Klayman ’25, vice president of events and programming for Lehigh’s Kappa Delta chapter.
“I have learned the importance of leading a group with the input of all participants in mind in order to create a fair, comfortable environment where everyone is able to achieve. Working with the Girl Scouts has also taught me that women of all ages need a community with a culture that uplifts and supports each other.”