Super scouts

Girl Scouts isn't just about selling cookies; in the past few weeks, girls in Orange have been hard at work earning badges, serving the community and yes, pushing boxes of Thin Mints and Caramel deLites.
Girl Scouts, formed in 1912 by Juliette Gordon Low in Savannah, GA, aims to empower girls through a myriad of enriching experiences. These experiences include learning basic skills and contributing to society.
"I think Girl Scouts is all about learning skills for life and empowering girls," troop leader and former scout Brittany Asher said. "It gives girls a feeling of self-accomplishment."
Asher leads a troop of 11 Daisy girls in Unionville, one of 32 Girl Scout troops within the county that serve approximately 344 girls. Daisies are the youngest girls in Girl Scouts-from age 5 to 7. Because of their age, the girls focus on earning petals instead of the typical badges.
"Petals are all about learning the laws of Girl Scouts," Asher said. "Things like honesty and fairness."
Asher said the troop still learns other things as well. For instance, they recently visited Ellwood to learn about historic preservation and went to a local firehouse to learn about fire safety. Plus, Asher said, the girls will soon have a slumber party to prepare them for their first time at camp.
Unlike Boy Scouts, which hosts a national jamboree every four years, there is no national camp event for Girl Scouts. However, the girls have a variety of summer camp options and councils-Orange County troops are in the Virginia Skyline Council-have their own camporees.
"We have day camps and week camp options," Asher said. "The closest camp to Orange County would be Camp Sugar Hollow."
As girls in scouting mature, they move up the ranks into Brownies (ages 7-9), Juniors (ages 9-11), Cadettes (ages 11-14), Seniors (ages 14-16) and Ambassadors (ages 16-18). Each level has its own challenges and rewards.
Rebecca Rollins and Gina Miller lead Troop 954 which consists of seven Junior girls, ages 11 and 12. According to Miller, the girls are hard at work earning badges and serving the community. She said recently the girls earned a God and Family badge and a Frosty Fun badge.
"We are especially proud of the religious badge, God and Family," she said.
The Frosty Fun badge was planned by Baylee and Taylor Rollins and involved snow. Recently, Miller said, the girls have been taking turns planning and leading meetings.
"It's so fun and helps them learn to be leaders," she said.
As part of trying to earn the Bronze Award, the highest award a Junior Girl Scout can earn, the troop completed a large community service project at the MERCI Center in Goldsboro, NC. While there, the girls sorted and packed winter clothes for families in Armenia and summer clothes for families in Haiti.
"The girls worked hard labeling, weighing, palletizing and shrink-wrapping 48 boxes to send to each county," Miller said.
Miller said currently the troop is working on sending blankets to the Linus project, a non-profit volunteer organization that provides love, security, warmth and comfort to children who are seriously ill, traumatized or otherwise in need.
Scout Marina Miller said she enjoys the activities that the troop participates in, both because they are fun and help others. Marina said she has been a scout for the past five years and feels like it's similar to a family.
"Girl Scouts are kind of like families and it feels good knowing you have a sister there for you," she said. "We go camping every year at Camp Sugar Hollow, earn lots of badges, do group bonding activities, walk in parades, have gone to camporees, earned religious awards and even spent the night in an aquarium."
And what about the cookies? Marina said she enjoys selling the cookies, which serve as the biggest fundraiser for scouts.
"I think its fun because you get to be a saleswoman for the day," she said.
Marina admitted that there is some competition as to who can sell the most.
"We do seem to have some friendly competition in the troop to see who can sell the most cookies," she said. "We like selling a lot of cookies because the more we sell, the more money we earn to do fun things."
Marina said this year the troop is saving up to visit Girl Scout creator Low's house in Georgia.
"I am very excited about this," she said.
Also, for the first time, the Virginia Skyline Council is hosting a Girl Scout Day at Montpelier May 8. According to Asher, the day-long event, titled "Live Your Dreams," will feature presentations from local organizations and businesses such as the Piedmont Environmental Council, the Society of Women Engineers, the American Red Cross and the local rescue squad. The featured speaker will be Miss Virginia, Chinah Helmandollar. Registration is $8 per scout or $10 if registering after April 30. Girl Scouts leaders, family members, tag a-longs and friends of scouts are welcome. The registration fee includes a button and each scout will receive an activity patch and an event passport. For more information, contact Girl Scouts of Virginia Skyline Council Field Coordinator Terrie Richardson at 661-0471 or trichardson@gsvsc.org.
Anyone interested in becoming involved in Girl Scouts, either as a scout or adult volunteer, can also contact Richardson.