Local Girl Scouts staying busy

Troop 3083 Troop 3197By Jaime Thomas

It’s cookie season for local girl scouts, but they’ve been keeping busy year round.

“We do a lot throughout the year,” said Diane Wescott, Community Chair for the scouts. The local troop consists of girls from four towns including Granville, Whitehall, Hartford and Fort Ann.

Wescott said the girls do a lot throughout the year, including volunteer work, fundraisers and fun. In the fall, the troops underwent an investiture ceremony that welcomed first time girl scouts at the Baptist Church in Granville.

“The church was full between the girl scouts and their families,” Wescott said.

And in one of their Take-Action projects, one of the brownie troops was challenged to somehow make the world better. They did so through the Wonders of Water, in which the girls pledged to forgo soda and juices and drink water instead.

Each time they made that choice, their parents would put a quarter in their collection cup. The collected money was then sent to an organization in Africa who builds wells for those who don’t have them.

“They learned what they do personally can affect the world, and they learned about taking care of water, and how precious clean water it is to many people who don’t have it,” Wescott said.

At Christmastime, the girls took money from their fundraising dinners and bake sales and adopted several families. They bought clothing, boots, toys and other items for a family from Granville, a family from Whitehall and a mixed group with members in both towns.

“It’s families that wouldn’t have Christmas otherwise. Next year we want to adopt one family from each of the four towns our troops come from,” Wescott said.

During the holidays the girls also split up and brought cards and sang carols to residents at such places as the Orchard and Holbrook Adult Home.

“The residents are always happy to see the girls, and the girls had a good time,” Wescott said.

They also donate health and beauty products to the Granville Food Pantry throughout the year.

For both learning and enjoyment, the troops held a cookie drive at the Glens Falls Civic Center.

“We were teaching them skills connected with selling the cookies; they had a great time with that,” Wescott said. The scouts were able to watch an Adirondack Phantoms game when their business was over.

As far as fun, the girls recently had a swim and pizza party at the Whitehall school that Wescott described as a “mini-spa” where they could also get their nails done. They had father-daughter bowling at Granville Lanes in February, and they’ll have a mother-daughter banquet at Granville High School in April.

In May, there will be a bridging ceremony where the girls move from one level to the next.

Over the summer different troops usually do a camping trip, and girls can attend Hidden Lake Camp on an individual basis.

And in addition to the group activities, each troop does individual projects and events.