WESTBROOK –Doing good in the community is one of the cornerstones of Girl Scouting, and Troop 1868 in Westbrook has taken that mission to heart.
Just before the Christmas vacation, the six girls in the troop put up a mitten tree, along with hats, for the use of kids at Canal School who might not be able to afford proper winter gear.
“I thought it was amazing that the girls came up with the idea for the tree, because they said it just wasn’t right for their classmates to go without,” said Veronica Bates, the troop leader. “We were able to load that tree with mittens and hats for those less fortunate.”
She said her troop, which is made up of girls in the third, fourth and fifth grades, does a lot of community service projects, including donating several Build A Bears to the Ronald McDonald House in Portland and doing coat and food drives before the holidays.
Along with other troops across Maine and around the country, Troop 1868 is readying to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the founding of Girl Scouts of the USA.
Bates said her troop is working hard on earning their centennial badges and is trying to complete 100 hours of community service by the end of this year.
Juliette Gordon Low founded the Girl Scouts in Savannah, Ga., on March 12, 1912. And now, as the organization most known for its cookie sales prepares to celebrate its centennial, local troop leaders say scouting’s mission has changed little since its founding: to instill in girls a sense of altruism and to teach them the skills they need to be successful.
As cultural attitudes toward women shifted, so have the skills Girl Scout are taught. During the past century the organization has gone from a focus on learning such things as cooking and gardening to a focus today on the environment, global issues and emerging fields in science and math.
“Today’s girls have access to life-changing experiences that inspire them to think big. Girl Scouts offers unique resources to help get them where they want to go,” said Joan McDonald, CEO of the Girl Scouts of Maine. “Scouting is also about science, technology, engineering, math, wilderness survival, environmental awareness, backpacking, rock climbing, community outreach, financial literacy, the arts, health and wellness, international travel and high adventure. And that’s just for starters.
“For 100 years Girl Scouts has inspired girls to grow in courage, confidence and character and to use those qualities and leadership skills to make a difference in the world,” McDonald added. “Our centennial celebration marks ‘The Year Of The Girl,’ and serves as the springboard for introducing a whole new generation of girls to amazing adventures and life-changing experiences.”
At the first official meeting of the Girl Scouts 100 years ago, 18 girls were present. Today, Girl Scouts of the USA has a membership of more than 3.2 million girls and adult volunteers. In addition, more than 50 million women in the United States are Girl Scout alumnae. In Maine, the Girl Scouts has a statewide membership of 11,538 girls in grades K-12.
And, even with all of the other activities out there for children, interest in Girl Scouting in Maine is doing better than the national average, according to Joanne Hulsey, director of membership for the Girl Scouts of Maine.
In fact, she said, in terms of total membership, Maine is ranked 29th out of 112 councils across the nation and is ranked 14th of 112, or nearly 66 percent, for its retention rate – the number of girls who participated in scouting one year and then returned the following year.
Hulsey said even more girls want to participate and said hundreds across the state are on waiting lists because there are not enough adult volunteers to lead troops.
In addition to its membership growth, the Girl organization also now has a global presence and is even planning to roll out a virtual Girl Scout program. The organization offers six levels of scouting – Daisy for grades K-1; Brownie, for grades 2-3; Junior for grades 4-5; Cadette for grades 6-8; Senior for grades 9-10 and Ambassador for grades 11-12.
In the early years, according to the national website, Girl Scouts hiked, played basketball, went on camping trips, learned how to tell time by the stars and studied first aid. Now, they can earn badges in such fields as comic artist, net-etiquette, special agent and digital moviemaker.
Low first met Sir Robert Baden-Powell, founder of the Boy Scouts and Girl Guides in England, in 1911. She was 51 and deaf. Despite her disability, Low was searching for something useful to do with her life, according to the national website.
In developing the Girl Scout organization, Low encouraged girls “to prepare not only for traditional homemaking, but also for possible future roles as professional women . . . and for active citizenship,” the website states.
Unlike the Boy Scouts, the Girl Scouts has not been rocked by much controversy. Since its beginnings, it’s been an inclusive organization and in 2011 it accepted a transgender member from Colorado.
However, last year the organization did get into trouble with a variety of environmental groups because many of its cookie recipes call for the use palm oil, which opponents said leads to the destruction of vital habitat. The Girl Scouts countered that the palm oil used is harvested in an “environmentally friendly way” from organizations that belong to the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil.
As part of a nationwide realignment process, in October 2007, the Girl Scouts of Maine was formed. It joined together the Abnaki Girl Scout Council, which had served the northern part of the state since 1962, and the Girl Scouts of Kennebec Council, which had served the southern part of the state since 1963.
The activities and opportunities offered to each Girl Scout largely depends on the age group, the number of girls in each troop and the volunteer troop leader, although the badge-earning process has been standardized by the national organization.
Most towns in Maine and across the country have multiple troops of differing age groups, all led by different people. Most often the leaders are the mothers of one of the members of the troop, which is the case for Troop 1868.
Marissa Bates, now 9, first joined the Girl Scouts four years ago, which is when her mother began leading the troop.
“What I like most is the fact that I get to spend time with six wonderful girls who have a bright future,” Veronica Bates said.
“I also like that I can be a good, positive role model for them. I try to teach them that anything a boy can do, a girl can do, too, and that every goal is attainable if you work hard enough,” she added.
Girls from Troop 1189 in Westbrook went on a weekend camping
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