NEW YORK, November 21, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA) has been selected an Overall Grand Champion of the 2012 Social Media Leadership Awards, the first global competition to honor organizations that have overcome challenges through the use of social media. The Social Media Leadership Awards, presented by Knowledge@Wharton and Social Strategy1, and supported by Ernst & Young, announced the category winners and overall grand champion of the competition, which honored 18 organizations that demonstrated success in overcoming a challenge through the use of social media, including Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, The Vanguard Group Inc., Adobe, and others.

"This award is wonderful acknowledgement of GSUSA's increasing efforts to utilize technology and social media to further engage girls, and I am so proud of our team and their work," said Anna Maria Chavez, CEO of Girl Scouts of the USA. "We know that girls are deeply invested in the digital space, and social media enables us to foster a greater sense of community among Girl Scouts around the country and globe."

Not only are today's girls actively engaged online, they also aspire to someday be at the forefront of the rapidly evolving technological business landscape. According to the Girl Scout Research Institute study Generation STEM: What Girls Say about Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math, 74 percent of teen girls are interested in STEM subjects and the general field of study. Further, a high 82 percent of girls see themselves as "smart enough to have a career in STEM."

During its monumental 100^th anniversary year, GSUSA has committed itself to building girl leadership in the next century. This year, GSUSA launched ToGetHerThere, the largest, boldest advocacy and fundraising cause dedicated to girls' leadership in the nation's history. To match, Girl Scouts has launched a $1 billion philanthropic campaign for girls to fuel this effort and to fund opportunities that enable girls to lead.

"In 2012, we decided to step up our social media strategy," said Philip Bae, director of interactive marketing at GSUSA. "During our 100^th Anniversary year, we consolidated our efforts, expanded our engagement in the digital space, and used social media to increase membership and start a national conversation about our girl leadership program."

About Girl Scouts of the USA
Founded in 1912, Girl Scouts of the USA is the preeminent leadership development organization for girls, with 3.2 million girl and adult members worldwide. Girl Scouts is the leading authority on girls' healthy development, and builds girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place. The organization serves girls from every corner of the United States and its territories. Girl Scouts of the USA also serves American girls and their classmates attending American or international schools overseas in 90 countries. For more information on how to join, volunteer or reconnect with, or donate to Girl Scouts, call 800-GSUSA-4-U or visit www.girlscouts.org.

About Social Strategy1
Social Strategy1 is a managed services and business intelligence firm specializing in social media and online intelligence. Supported by teams of analysts that provide clients actionable insights for managing online presence and strategy, SS1 serves multiple industries and business functions. For more information, visit www.socialstrategy1.com or follow "@sstrategy1" on Twitter.

About the Wharton School and Knowledge@Wharton
Founded in 1881 as the first collegiate business school, the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania is recognized globally for intellectual leadership and ongoing innovation across every major discipline of business education. With a broad global community and one of the most published business school faculties, Wharton creates ongoing economic and social value around the world. The School has 5,000 undergraduate, MBA, executive MBA, and doctoral students; more than 9,000 annual participants in executive education programs; and a powerful alumni network of 91,000 graduates.

Knowledge@Wharton is a free biweekly online resource that captures knowledge generated at the Wharton School and beyond through such channels as research papers, conferences, speakers, books, and interviews with faculty and other business experts on current business topics. The Knowledge@Wharton network -- which includes Chinese, Spanish, Portuguese and Indian editions -- has more than 2.1 million subscribers worldwide.

About Ernst & Young
Ernst & Young is a global leader in assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services. Worldwide, our 152,000 people are united by our shared values and an unwavering commitment to quality. We make a difference by helping our people, our clients and our wider communities achieve their potential. For more information about our organization, please visit www.ey.com.

SOURCE Girl Scouts of the USA