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Pam Dudding
Contributing writer
Locals who were involved in the Girl Scouts in previous years are now finding it refreshing to see the younger generation wanting to bring the Girl Scouts back to Craig County.
Angela Spence, along with Shelby Crotts are bravely starting the new troops. They hope to soon add
Olivia Slusher and Elizabeth Abdelaziz, as soon as their Girl Scout paperwork is complete.
The thought to restart Girl Scouts in Craig began in late fall between a few local moms.
“We would see Girl Scout tables set up in Roanoke selling cookies, and thought, why do we not have a local troop?” Spence shared. “We asked our kiddos if this would be something they’d be interested in, and they IMMEDIATELY said yes.”
Spence added that what spurred their personal interest was to support their girls.
“The troop interest began with four moms,” she said. “We began the journey jumping into one of the most chaotic times (cookie season). We had limited time to go through training, get our goals lined up, and begin the troop.”
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She quickly added, “Our biggest supporters are our kids. We knew if this was something they really wanted to do, we needed to ensure they had the tools and resources. Now that we see that there is so much interest (by the amount of girls we have had to sign up), the sky is the limit! We plan on doing everything we can do to support these girls through their journey. There are so many benefits from being a Girl Scout (learning new skills, making new friends, support for their education, etc).”
Girl Scouts of the USA consists of:
- Daisies: Grades K-1
- Brownies: Grades 2-3
- Juniors: Grades 4-5
- Cadettes: Grades 6-8
- Seniors: Grades 9-10
- Ambassadors: Grades 11-12
However, Spence shared, “We would never turn down a Scout! Any and all grade levels are welcome.”
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They currently have a mix of Daisies, Brownies and Juniors and they will be separating each group.
They are still in need of leaders, helpers and volunteers. Whether to sign up to be a leader, co-leader or to just assist them for special events and fundraisers, they are welcoming more ladies to assist in their venture.
“The more we get enrolled the more help we will need!” Spence said.
The Girl Scout rules state any leader or volunteer must be registered with the Girl Scout Council. This is important, as it ensures background checks are completed and proper training is provided.
Currently, meetings are held monthly on the second Friday of every month from 6:30-7:30 p.m. at The Lasterday Market on the corner of Route 311 and Market Street.
The girls want the community to know that they are in the Girl Scout cookie sales month and to please contact them to buy cookies, as this is a huge moneymaking project for the troops, to begin their year off with funds to help them purchase badges and have meetings.
Their last day to submit orders will be March 10 if anyone would like to purchase.
“We will have additional cookies for sale, however for guaranteed cookies, please see a Scout or contact one of us to place an order by March 10th,” Spence shared.
Please note that Girl Scouts are only able to sell cookies up until the last day of March.
Plans are to hold another cookie booth locally in town. The time and date has yet to be determined.
“We will post details to the local New Castle Facebook page,” Spence added.
Since they are new, there are no funds for them to start with.
Spence noted that the Girl Scout Council will allow them to have some fundraisers to support the troops, as they need funds to purchase badges, have meetings, for activities and hopefully be able to go to camps.
“Girl Scouts are not able to proactively ask for monetary donations, however, we are able to accept if proactively provided,” Spence said. “We are able to proactively ask for non-monetary donations such as supplies for meetings and badges.”
At their meetings the girls will be doing many things.
“Between working on badges, arts & crafts, partnering on different tasks, and learning new skills, they will stay busy, learn and have fun also,” Spence said.
“We wish to thank Lasterday for allowing us to gather at their store, and thanks to all the supporters on our previous cookie sale,” Spence added.
The girls set a humongous goal to sell 3,522 Girl Scout cookies.
“So far to date we have sold 1297!” Spence said, “An amazement is also that within 1 week of beginning to sell, we had sold 974 boxes!”
The girls added, “Please contact a Girl Scout if you wish to purchase cookies! If you don’t know one, just comment on one of the posts on the FB page for New Castle.”
Also, to sign up as a Girl Scout or for more information, contact Spence or Crotts on Facebook or messenger.
“But whatever you do, order your cookies today!” the girls shared with grins.
