Happy Birthday Girl Scouts

On june 9th of this year Girl Scouts celebrated their 95th anniversary. Girl Scouts from around the world met at Washington DC to sing songs and exchange swaps. ( Swaps are a small handmade craft with you name and troop info on it). My small troop was able to participate.

We boarded a bus for DC at 8am that morning. It took us about 2 hours to get there. By the time we got there the The Mall was packed. (The mall is the area around the washington monument). Girl Scouts had the area set up with huge TV screens and speackers, so that even though you weren't close to the stage where the song leaders were you could see and hear everything that was going on. Our group found space close enough to a tv and a set of speakers and of course close enough to the port o potties. There we spread blankets and broke out our bag lunches and settled in for the festivities. It was amazing how so many girls and troops co existed with no trouble and no problems. Girls and leaders who i didn't even know would come up to me and conversations would just start flowing. I took my son on this trip with me and even though he was apprehensive about the whole thing at first he really got into the swing of things. by the end of the day his T-shirt was covered in swaps that he had traded for.

Sorry i haven't written lately. Here is the thing. I have been in somewhat of a depression. A week ago i was over the moon about having new girls in my troop and then BAM! I am right back where i started from. Zero girls. Somebody please tell me is it me. I was so excited last week with the thought of new girls coming to my troop. I took careful time to pick out a craft that encompassed badge work and fun so that i wouldn't bore them to death. I was sooo stoked. And just like that i was crushed. I waited around thinking that they would, show up. You know what people say better late than never. Now i know the true meaning of that statement. So this week I have mixed feelings about what to expect. I got that really funny feeling in the pit of my stomach. I don't want to amp myself up hoping for something that may not come. But who knows stranger things have happened. Maybe last week was a test of my character and determination.

Slowly but surely

Well things are starting to look up. I was in such turmoil about loosing my troop. But now it looks as if i may not have to close it down after all. This past Friday we had our Halloween day. which for us usually includes decorating pumpkins. We wanted to visit a pumpkin patch this year but with our attendance in the toilet that trip was cancelled. So we bought small pumpkins in hopes that we would have more than one girl show up to decorate. I was not let down. We not only had two new brownies show up we had girls who used to be a part of our troop come back and visit. And they brought with them a girl who may come back. For the first time this year the church we meet in was filled with voices other than our own. It was fantastic. I hated to see the meeting end for fear that they won't come back. But I have faith that they will, plus a few promises. As long as i stay positive. I think we will be okay.

Community Service

Schools now require students to do community service. We require the same. We want the girls to know that it isn't always about fun and games. Each month we try to get the girls to commit to at least 1 day of community service. There are months when that is very easy and our girls have multiple hours and then there are some where it is very hard. One of our favorite places for community service is the Food Packing plant in the North Philadelphia area of the city. There we work from about 8 am to 12 pm repackaging dry noodles. We would get a giant box of noodles and have to sort it down into 1 pound bags and box it, six pounds per box. Usually there were other youth groups and troops there and it would almost be like a race to see who could empty their skid faster. There were days when it wasn't so fun there. Like salvage days. Believe me it is exactly what it sounds like. That is when there are giant pallets filled with cans donated because they were either dented or misprinted and we would have to go through and determine if the dates were still good. If it was opened and spoiled,Yuck. This was one job we found we didn't like very much because it attracted mice. The food packing plant held good times for us too. There was a year that we actually got to pack holiday boxes for needy families. It made everybody appreciate what they had.

My troop meets every Friday night in Germantown. Right now my troop is on the brink of disbanding. It has been so hard to keep young girls interested in Girls Scouts. So at this point a troop that has been established for over 20 years may not be for long. Now my troop has always been a small group but that has never stopped us from doing things. In fact I believe that because our troop was so small we were able to do more things. We try to show the girls that Girl Scouts isn't just arts and crafts and camping. Girl Scouts is a sisterhood. It is one of the first sororities that a girl gets to join. With the rewards being life long friendships and life long skills.

Our troop has gone on different trips. Each trip teaching the girls something new about life and about themselves. Currently this year we are planning several get- togethers. The only thing stopping us from going is at this current moment we have 2 girls registered. Each year it is the same thing. Our numbers get smaller and smaller. Does this mean that parents don't have the same values they did 20 years ago?

Welcome

Welcome to Girl Scouts, my American tradition. I will take you through my years and experiences as a girl scout. Giving you incite to different opportunities that are available to girls scouts. With hopes that you too will grow to love and appreciate girl scouts, as i do. And maybe even consider enrolling your child or yourself into this awesome program.

Girl scouts started for me when I was 7 years old and i can remember it like it was yesterday. Walking into a new place, and having that weird funny feeling in the pit of my stomach. The fear and excitement of something new. It was a place where i could be myself and make new friends. Even today as an adult there are people i meet in the street that i had met at a program during my girl years as a scout. Even thought i am an adult i still spend time with the scouts but in a different capacity. Now i am the leader. Using the skills that girl scouts has taught me. Knowing that i am partially responsible for helping shape the minds of growing girls. And helping them realize that they can succeed in what ever they put their minds to.