Aside from my old vest, I think my favorite piece of Girl Scout memorabilia is this unusual pin I purchased a few years ago on eBay. Surprisingly, it has a connection to Ukraine.
The pin is about 1.5 inches in diameter and stamped “sterling” on the reverse. However, the globe, sun, and heart have a slight golden color, which may be from another metal as well. The combination also invokes the silver and gold friendships of the song “Make New Friends.”
The pin is engraved “Suncoast Girl Scout Council” on the back of the rainbow.
World to Explore
The pin’s design draws on the iconic symbols of the old Worlds to Explore program. Introduced in 1977 and in wide use by 1980, Worlds to Explore divided the program curriculum into five “worlds”: Arts, Out-of-Doors, People, Today and Tomorrow, Well-Being.
Each world had a designated color: purple (Arts), yellow (Out-of-Doors), blue (People), orange (Today and Tomorrow), and red (Well-Being). Badge borders were embroidered in the corresponding color.
A quick look at a girl’s vest would indicate her favorite world (predominant border color) and a colorful sash indicated a well-rounded program.
Suncoast Women of Distinction
After owning the pin for several years, I learned that it had been created by Tampa artist Karen Arch for winners of the Suncoast Girl Scout Council Women of Distinction recognition.
Suncoast is now part of the Girl Scouts of West-Central Florida, and staff graciously encouraged non-distinctive me to continue wearing and enjoying the brooch.
Symbol of Friendship
But I’ve long felt that I’d seen the design before, in some non-Girl Scout context. Somewhere, in the back of my mind, there was a connection.
Then one day, flipping through an album of old photos, I found it. A photo I’d taken in Kyiv, Ukraine, in May 1990.
This is the Russian-Ukrainian People’s Friendship Arch, erected in 1982. It is a huge, 115-high titanium monument overlooking the Dnipro River.
Today, Ukraine has little interest in celebrating friendship with Russia, given Moscow’s invasions in February 2022 and February 2014.
Ukrainians first responded with humor, adding a painted “crack” in 2018 to symbolize broken relations between the two countries.
Reframing History
Like other post-Soviet countries, Ukraine has had to face its Soviet past and determine what to do with Soviet-era relics. While it’s one thing to rename streets, there is no home for discredited giant sculptures or budget to dismantle them.
“The myth of ‘reunification’ of the two ‘fraternal’ peoples embodied in the monument does not correspond to historical realities,” the Culture Ministry news release on April 17 read. “This myth is actively used to justify (Russian President Vladimir) Putin’s territorial claims.”
Kyiv Independent, April 18, 2024
The Friendship Arch was renamed the Freedom Arch in May 2022. Two years later, Ukraine’s Ministry of Culture revoked its historical status, which had protected it from destruction.
Today, the arch remains standing, although the bronze sculpture of two workers underneath the arch was removed in 2022.
I could now segue into a discussion about how Girl Scout council history is being reframed, even erased, but I’ve raised that concern before.
Instead, I’ll just say that this is another surprising overlap of my two academic worlds.
If I can add a “crack” to my pin, perhaps I’ll wear it as another symbol of solidarity with Ukraine.
© 2026 Ann Robertson, writer, editor, Girl Scout historian, but NOT a Girl Scout employee.
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