Applications Due: March 5, 2025

Since 1989, the Girl Scouts of Gulfcoast Florida, Inc. Board of Directors has awarded college scholarships to graduating high school senior Girl Scouts. Girl Scouting provides opportunities for girls to develop skills, leadership, and citizenship. The Board established this scholarship fund to recognize outstanding young women for their achievements and academic success while encouraging them to pursue higher education.

Eligibility criteria and the application for the 2025 Dr. Elinor Crawford College Scholarship Fund are available on the council website. The completed application, including all required attachments and letters of recommendation, must be received by March 5, 2025.

We remember Dr. Elinor Crawford for so many reasons. She was a friend, an advocate for all women and girls, and a dedicated board and committee member. In 1987, she helped establish the Girl Scout Scholarship Committee, which was later renamed The Dr. Elinor Crawford Girl Scout College Scholarship Fund in her honor. She remained actively involved in the committee for many years, taking great pride in reading each application and celebrating the achievements of young women. She cherished every thank-you letter and was deeply moved by the impact the scholarship had on recipients.

As a professor of physical education at the University of Northern Iowa for 30 years, Elinor played a crucial role in advocating for gender equality in education. Crawford joined the UNI faculty in 1949 as an instructor in the Department of Physical Education for Women. She was named acting head of the department in 1975 and head in 1977. She retired in 1979. She was instrumental in developing the women’s intercollegiate athletic program in 1968 and also served some years as women’s field hockey coach.  She was a key contributor to the writing and passage of Title IX, the landmark federal legislation that transformed opportunities for girls and women in sports and education. Her legacy lives on in the achievements of countless female athletes and scholars.

Dr. Elinor Crawford passed away in 2016, but her dedication to empowering young women continues through the scholarship that bears her name.

Scholarship recipients will be honored at the Young Women of Distinction celebration on May 18, 2025.

For assistance, contact Marie Graziosi at marieg@gsgcf.org or call 941-921-5358 ext. 338 or 800-232-4475.