What began as a small group of St. Louis girls selling handmade bracelets to support children in crisis has grown into a national organization hoping to make a global difference.
Last October, St. Louis mother Nawal Abuhamdeh founded the first chapter of Salam Scouts, a 501c(3) nonprofit affiliated with the Islamic Foundation of Greater St. Louis, which “empowers young Muslims to become confident, compassionate leaders.” The original Salam Scouts group, now sixth- and seventh-graders, are among 23 troops across five states, including Missouri, Michigan, Texas, Wisconsin, and California.
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The founding of Salam Scouts was initially sparked by the group’s bracelets for Palestine fundraiser last spring, which raised $16,885 for Palestine Children’s Relief Fund and $9,172 for MATW during its bracelets for Palestine fundraiser. Abuhamdeh explains that Salam Scouts troops, which include both girls and boys, can sell whatever they choose—bracelets and beyond—to raise money for a list of organizations including Heal Palestine, IMRC, Givelight, UNRWA USA, and Sadagaat USA.
Upcoming fundraisers for such organizations include UmmahWalk25, which will be held locally at Creve Coeur Lake on April 27 through a partnership with Unity Lab, as well as a Ramadan Bazaar, for which troops are encouraged to sell locally sourced or homemade items.
“We encourage troops to donate at least 10 percent of their proceeds to a charity they choose and we vet,” says founder and troop leader Nawal Abuhamdeh. “We also are going to have an Advocacy Day in partnership with the nonprofit Justice for All, which encourages our young leaders to talk to their community leaders of Congress to advocate for policies that affect them and that they are passionate about, including the genocide in Gaza, climate, and health care.”
A New Direction
Abuhamdeh didn’t initially plan to launch a new nonprofit. Rather, Salam Scouts was borne out of a series of conversations while leading Girl Scouts Troop 149.
Last year, as the troop geared up for another season of cookie sales, she noticed the meetings often took a different tone. “All of our Girl Scout meetings at the time [would inevitably turn to conversations about] Palestine and how we can help,” recalls Abuhamdeh, a Palestinian-American who lives in St. Louis County. “The girls wanted to do something to advocate for the children of Gaza.”
At the same time, Abuhamdeh explains, the troop was working on its Girl Scouts ‘Agents for Change Journey,’ in which the scouts learn about ways to make a difference in their communities. “I was talking to the girls about cookie season, and they were much quieter than they usually were,” Abuhamdeh recalls. “They told me, ‘We don’t really think it’s fair for us to sell cookies when we know that other children are starving right now, and they’re cold and dying. Can we just do something else instead?’”
The 9- and 10-year-old girls decided they wanted to make beaded bracelets. In January 2024, Abuhamdeh sent a statement to the community to say, in lieu of cookies, the troop would be selling handmade bracelets to benefit the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund. The Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri reached out to Abuhamdeh after seeing the post and, after much back-and-forth between the organization and Abuhamdeh—as reported by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch—the Girl Scouts organization sent a formal request that the troop remove any affiliation of the fundraiser with Girl Scouts due to its “policies of participating in political and partisan activities,” Abuhamdeh says. (The Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri declined to comment for this story.)
“Our girls’ intention was to help make the world a better place, as [the Girl Scouts organization] taught us,” Abuhamdeh adds. “This was not political or partisan—this was a humanitarian crisis.”
When Abuhamdeh explained to the girls that they could independently sell bracelets and meet up with their friends, she recalls, the group decided to move forward. The troop, now within the organization Salam Scouts, made a decision not to compete with cookie-selling season, Abuhamdeh says, because they want the Girl Scouts to succeed as well. “They want them to also thrive but they also want to do their own thing. There’s so many lessons that I, as an adult, take from these girls.”
Building Community
Salam Scouts was launched in part to create space and belonging for the children and their families. “We wanted to create a safe space for our Muslim boys and girls to not only feel included and accepted but also to feel comfortable in who they are and in the values of the organization,” Abuhamdeh says. “I think it’s really important that the children feel that sense of belonging and feel really proud of who they are and the contributions that they can make. When you create that safe space for them to do that, that’s where they can thrive and grow and really build onto their leadership skills and their values.”
It’s a mission that resonates with Abuhamdeh. “As a Palestinian-American born and raised here, I was always told, even by my parents, ‘Just keep your head low. Don’t make too much noise,’” she says. “So that’s what I always did, for fear of my safety and my family’s safety.” It was because of that fear that Abuhamdeh planned to keep the organization small and simple. “I was really worried [about being so public like this], but the opposite has happened. Thousands of people from around the world have reached out to us in support through emails and messages and even postcards, sending the girls stickers and magnets and little gifts. That was incredible to see from people of all faiths, all religions, all races, all over the world, in support of us.”
Troop 149, which now has 13 members, recently saw a physical manifestation of their efforts when they visited Rahaf, a 2-year-old Palestinian girl who was evacuated from Gaza and brought to St. Louis for medical treatment after losing both of her legs when a bomb struck her home. “We took gifts and went to visit her and play with her,” Abuhamdeh says. “We sat in a circle and discussed the importance of community, compassion, and kindness. I just wanted them to understand that this is a full-circle moment, where just last year we decided not to sell cookies because we were making bracelets, and we raised over $16,000… It went to the organization that helps children like Rahaf… We wanted them to know that they matter, that they have power. And there’s no act too small. Just do good.”
To join Salam Scouts or start a troop, families can visit the website.
