Wexford Girl Scouts win President’s Volunteer Service Award

For girls in Girl Scout Troop 51514, giving back to the community is a tradition.

During the past two years, girls strived to “do a good turn daily.” 

Two years ago, the troop of 20 fourth graders from Marshall Elementary School in Wexford completed nearly 1,500 good deeds.

This commitment to community service was so well received by the girls and their families, troop leaders Amy Herne, Belle Zimmer and Brandy Campbell decided to up the ante.

They challenged the girls in July 2013 to work toward earning the President’s Volunteer Service Award. Zimmer began tracking all of the girls’ service hours and certifying all of the work girls did in their community. The troop logged more than 600 service hours in 11 months. In addition to troop projects, girls were encouraged to volunteer on their own and with their families.

The girls completed a variety of service projects as a troop, including:

·         helping the Pittsburgh Botanic Garden get ready for a fairy garden event by collecting items from the woods.

·         creating "Birthday-in-a-Bag” kits for North Hills Community Outreach’s food bank.

·         volunteering at the Marshall Township Halloween Parade and Celebration by hosting a game for local children.

·         collecting winter hats, gloves and scarves for Light of Life Mission.

·         building bird houses for the Pittsburgh Botanic Garden.

·         assembling more than 40 Jared Boxes for patients at Children’s Hospital.

·         making Valentines for a local nursing home.

·         sending Christmas cards to hospitalized veterans.

·         hosting a karaoke night for Ronald McDonald House.

Some of the efforts the girls did on their own/with their families included:

·         volunteering at local nursing homes.

·         dance-a-thon for Cystic Fibrosis

·         ringing bells for the Salvation Army

·         clean-up of a local fire station

·         local church events

Each Girl Scout was presented a Silver Pin for her uniform and a certificate signed by President Obama at a Girl Scout ceremony in June.

More from 2014 Girl Scouts National Convention

The girls in Temple Square

On Thursday morning we visited the historic Temple Square, which is the headquarters of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and Utah’s most popular tourist destination, and joined a tour with Sister Pipe and Sister Ryan. Everyone loved learning about the history of Temple Square but even more so loved the view from the 26th floor in the Office of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The view included the two mountain ranges surrounding Salt Lake City, the airport, and the Utah State Capitol Building. It was amazing! 





The view from the office of the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

The GSLI girls and chaperones then took off for the GSLI Opening Session where CEO Anna Maria Chavez and National Board President Connie Lindsay led the 900 girls to the Hall of Experiences.  The exhibit hall was awesome but a little bit overwhelming! So many options, so many vendors, so many people, no one knew where to start!



Some of the girls with "Juliette Gordon Low"

When we were finished with the Hall of Experiences, we started to develop our Take Action Projects by choosing from the 7 Issues: Hunger, Basic Needs, Education, Healthy Relationships, Teen Violence, Self Image, Gender Equality, Diversity and Inclusion.  After everyone had chosen their issue, the topic of the outdoors was brought up for discussion.  It was almost unanimous that the girls wanted to go back outdoors in Girl Scouting. As one girl said, we need to put the “out” backing in Scouting!

 

After dinner the Opening Ceremony began. Anna Maria and Connie were so excited to start off the convention!  Alison Levine spoke about her journey as she climbed the highest mountains in the world. Several local groups preformed and we had a blast singing and dancing! (So did GSWPA’s Board President Lois!)  





Elizabeth Smart



Friday morning the Delegates headed over to the First National Council Session! The meeting ended at 12:30 when the Delegate girls joined the GSLI girls who had been busy all morning starting their Take Action Projects!  The GSLI program had arranged for speakers from all sorts of backgrounds to speak.  After the GSLI sessions we had a wonderful dinner speaker, Elizabeth Smart, whose abduction was one of the most followed child abduction cases. She shared her moving story about the abduction and her life since.  

After the speaker at dinner, the GSLI girls had reconvened again to work with their councils on their Take Action Projects.  After spending time working on our projects we relaxed at the hotel to prepare for another busy day! So far we’re having a blast!