Monday, November 25, 2013

6 Ways Girl Scouts Gave Back in 2013

Wherever there’s giving, there’s Girl Scouts.


Community service is an integral part of Girl Scouting. Troops all across Silver Sage Council have been busy this year with service projects, putting in a total of 269,000 service hours. Wow! Below are just a handful of ways that Girl Scouts gave back in 2013.


Bronze Award Projects
For their Bronze Award projects, Meridian troop 43 filled 75 donated shoe boxes with new Scholastic books, winter hats and mittens, small games, toiletries, and candy for the City Light Home For Women & Children. Girls partnered with Shopko and the local library to complete the project. The troop also planted a vegetable garden and donated 75 lbs of produce to the Meridian Food Bank with the help of Zamzows.

Warm Hearts,Toasty Toes
Girl Scouts of Silver Sage and ICON Credit Union have partnered for the 4th annual sock drive. Twelve troop and members of the Icon staff will be spending the next few months collecting socks to donate to local charities to help keep everyone's toes toasty. Look for them in your local community today through January 18th!


Kuna Weekend Backpack Program
Girl Scout troop 130 donated $300 worth of food to the Kuna Weekend Backpack Program. This program supplies hungry children with enough food for an entire weekend. The troop’s donation provided meals and snacks for 54 children for two days.

Festival of Trees 
For 30 years, the Festival of Trees has been a holiday tradition in the Treasure Valley, raising more than $7 million to improve community healthcare. Hundreds of lavishly decorated Christmas trees, wreaths, and holiday décor will take over Boise Centre on the Grove from November 26 - December 2. On Saturday, November 30th, Girl Scouts from the Teen Advisory Committee will be on hand from 9:30 am – 9:30 pm running activities for the kids. Stop by and say hello!

Wagon Days
Girl Scouts Erica, Lily and Hadley volunteered a combined 140 hours for Wagon Days, a 55 year tradition in Ketchum featuring the largest parade in the Pacific Northwest complete with wagons, buggies and stagecoaches. These three Scouts were recognized by the city of Ketchum for selfless giving. 

Gold Award Projects
Sarah is one of 5 girls who earned her Gold Award this year. Gold Award projects require a minimum of 80 hours of community service and girls must propose a long term, sustainable solution to an issue of their choice. Sarah collected 1,358 toothbrushes for villages in Peru and Bolivia. She created  "Cepillarse los dentes! (Brush Your Teeth!)" banners and educated her Vacation Bible School about the need for supplies and dental education. 

How has your troop helped the local community this year? Email your story and pictures to kkuhnhausen@girlscouts-ssc.org.