Girls Scouts USA will celebrate its 99th anniversary on March 12, and local Girl Scout troops recently continued their service to the community in an appropriate manner.
Windsor troops 10153 and 10155 joined forces with the Windsor Food Bank to provide those in need with a little extra cheer: birthday bags.
The girls assembled gift bags filled with cake mix, frosting, candles and party hats to be distributed to Windsor Food Bank families.
“We’ve been able to teach the girls so much about helping others in their community through our relationship with Windsor Social Services," said April Michaud, leader of troop 10153.
Troops 10153 and 10155, co-led by Michaud and Heather Sloan, have collaborated with the Food Bank for two years, aiming to develop their girls' sense of community service.
“For them, this event in their Girl Scout experience encourages them to share something with others. I can only hope that they think of what they can do for others each year as they remember the anniversary of the first Girl Scout meeting,” Michaud said.
Together, the first- and second-grade girls have donated to Social Services' "Project Santa" initiative, delivered food donations, and have helped stock the Food Banks' shelves, said Michaud.
Social Services Coordinator Kristen Formanek sees the girls' involvment as an important contribution to the effort to serve over 400 Windsor families, as well as an invaluable opportunity for the girls to learn about service to community.
"These experiences with the Food Bank have not only shown the girls the importance of helping others in need in their own community, but have also helped to lay the foundation for several conversations about good nutrition,” she said.
“The girls have learned that the families of hundreds of children in town utilize the food bank to receive the nutritious, everyday foods that are stocked on our shelves... It is wonderful that the Girl Scouts chose a project that helps their neighbors to be able to celebrate their own birthdays.”
