by Bea Peterson
On Monday evening, June 23, seventeen members of Jr. Girl Scout Troop 1259 received Bronze Awards, the highest award a Junior Girl Scout can earn. To achieve this award the girls had to “demonstrate a commitment to helping others, to improving their community and to identify a need in the community. Once the need was determined they had to develop a plan to meet that need and then put the plan in motion.”
[private]The Troop recognized the need for pet food and supplies at the HACA Food Pantry and the Second Chance Animal Shelter. They instituted a pet food and supplies drive at the Hoosick Falls elementary school offering an ice cream party to each classroom per grade that donated the most items. During the drive 430 items were collected for the Food Closet.
To raise money, the scouts held a bake sale at the HAYC3 Armory on the Community Wide Tag Sale Day. The $256.50 they raised was donated to the Second Chance Animal Shelter. During the year the Troop also had a Pet Parade and met trained helper dogs.
Troop Leader Christine Still thanked all the fabulous parents for their help and support with these fabulous girls. “These girls are here because of you,” she told them. “Thank you.” Christine also thanked the entire community for its support of the Troop and its project. “It’s a wonderful community,” she said, adding that they sold out of homemade dog treats at the bake sale. She thanked the community for its support of the Troop’s Girl Scout Cookie sale. The Troop sold 2,900 boxes of cookies, which required considerable transportation help from the girl’s parents.
Bridging Ceremony
Besides coming up to the stage in the Immaculate Conception Church Hall for their Bronze Award pins, the scouts made a second trip to the stage for the Bridging Ceremony where they were presented a pin and certificate and stepped across a symbolic flower decorated wooden bridge from Junior Girl Scout to Senior Girl Scout.
Girl Scout Executive Joyce Brewer congratulated the girls on their accomplishments and encouraged them to stay in scouting. “Scouting has so much to offer and is so rewarding,” she said. “Scouting can give you a sense of self that others don’t have.”
Honored members of Troop 1259, one of the last large Scout groups in the community, are Faith Arnold, Aiyana Baker, Zoey Becker, Felicity Colegrove, Olivia Estes, McKenna Greenwood, Nicole Grogan, Alivia LeBarron, Macy Lindsey, Kendra Marshall, Erin McCart, Rosabell Plusch, Grace Spiak, Caroline Still, Aleah Stowell, Caitlin Stratton, Molly Walker and Payton Zedalis.
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