Girl Scouts enjoyed learning about their unique selves, discovering outer space, the benefits of community service and much more over the past few weeks. Check out this month’s Mission Moment Recap.
Going to bat for Bronze
Aminah, Caitlyn, Delaney, and Elena from Troop 70724 in Lancaster County earned their Bronze Award by building eight bat houses for three local parks and a conservancy. They also researched the nine native bat species in Pennsylvania along with four topics related to bats to create a book to be used as a resource for other troops in the service unit. Way to go, girls!
Exploring space in Dauphin County
Seven Brownies and Juniors in Troop 10840 went to Space Camp at Camp Small Valley earlier this year. This was their first camping trip and first overnight adventure as a troop. The Brownies earned their space science adventurer badges, and the Juniors earned their space science investigator badges. The girls viewed stars in an inflatable planetarium, and they participated in different activities to learn about the moon, stars, and planets. Despite the sleet and freezing rain in the evening the girls had a blast dancing at a party and spending the night in the yurts! They can’t wait to go on the next camping trip.
Sharing faith—and cookies
Penn’s Woods Service Unit continued to keep the Girl Scout tradition of Girl Scout Sunday alive by celebrating at St Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in Mountaintop, Luzerne County. The service was celebrated by the Rev. Michele Kaufman. The event was coordinated by troop volunteer Erin Caine. Immediately following the service, the congregation was invited to attend a reception with light refreshments including Girl Scout cookies!
Working on Girl Scout Ways
Service Unit 175 hosted a Girl Scout Ways week, organized by Kathy Pierich. Each night highlighted a different level, and the Girl Scouts completed the steps for the Girl Scout Ways badge. Kathy even created programming for the Daisy level since they do not have this specific badge. The program showcased how to be a sister to every Girl Scout while the girls shared fellowship, teamwork, and fun!
Fire and Ice fun
In March, Brownies and Juniors from Girl Scout Troop 10840 participated in Harrisburg’s 8th Annual Ice and Fire Festival. Girls helped GSHPA with recruitment of girls into Girl Scouts and sold more than 450 boxes of cookies! Traffic at the booth was nonstop and the girls had plenty of opportunities to practice interacting with customers, sharing their goals, and counting money. The girls worked hard and had a lot of fun at the festival!
Badge fun in Lancaster County
Brownie Troop 70028 worked on their Making Games badge by doing a scavenger hunt around the Elizabethtown College campus. During their adventure, they got to check out the STEM building, which features a crystal and gemstone museum. The girls had a blast looking at the awesome colors and sparkles created by nature while learning more about where their troop meets!
One for the books
Girls in Troop 11057 in Dauphin County earned their Silver Award with a project that supported literacy. The girls, joined by a member of Troop 10065, developed a project of reading books and putting QR codes in them to link to audio for children to have the benefits of someone reading to them anytime. Last year, the troop met with a Bookmobile representative and learned that the mobile unit needed some updating, including improvements to the computer system and better book organization. The rep also wanted to attract more teen readers to the Bookmobile. The troop brainstormed ideas to help, attended events all year with the Bookmobile, wrote recommendations for books, and created bookmarks for the Bookmobile with the QR code for read-aloud books. The girls also created curtains, learning to sew for the first time. The troop enjoyed an overnight trip to focus on the project, working together and learning how to rise to the challenges the work presented. Congratulations, Girl Scouts!
Working on Woodworker Badge
Members of Troop 70417 earned their woodworker badge at Woodcraft in Harrisburg. Each girl used a lathe to create a pen. While they worked, the girls also learned valuable skills like how to use a hammer and saw, plus many safety skills. It was a fun day of hands-on creativity!
Parade fun in Pike County
After a long day of cookie booths, the Daisies and Brownies from Troop 50735 showed up to the Milford St. Patrick’s Day Parade on March 16, ready to march and honor the troop’s chosen theme: “It Takes a Community of Helping Hands.” The girls worked hard on their banner, which included Irish colors and their own handprints, and made sure to showcase the logo of their dedicated escorts and parade partners, the Delaware Township Volunteer Ambulance Corps. They were proud to march alongside such an important group of community helpers, as they are learning to become community helpers themselves. The troop leaders are very proud of the girls for going above and beyond learning to make a difference in the community in their first year of the Girl Scout program.
Feeding the hungry in Luzerne County
Members of Daisy Troop 30828, Brownie Troop 30300, Junior Troop 34671, Cadette Troop 30301, Senior Troop 33206, and Ambassador Troop 30130 celebrated National Nutrition Month in March by collecting nonperishable items for Wyoming Valley Presbyterian’s food pantry. The food pantry can continue to provide services to 135 families each week, thanks to the efforts of the troop.
Unicorn fun in Dauphin County
Members of Daisy Troop 10730 and Brownie Troop 10731 attended Uniquely Me Unicorn Camp at Camp Small Valley. They learned how unique they are by exploring their talents and possible careers. They created kindness hearts, where they wrote something they liked about one another, and they painted heart boxes to hold their creations. Other activities included making unicorn headbands and bracelets and repurposing some empty cookie boxes by making bookmarks. Everyone enjoyed the team building course before returning home on Sunday. What a fun weekend!
Submit a Mission Moment today so we can showcase your Girl Scouts’ recent experiences and accomplishments next month! Visit our Mission Moment Recap webpage on the GSHPA Blog to see more Mission Moments from previous months.
*All Mission Moment information is submitted by volunteers/members. Should you have any questions regarding a submission, please email cmolitoris@gshpa.org.