WEST POINT, N.Y. (March 22, 2012) -- The Girl Scouts at West Point celebrated their centennial this year----the 100th anniversary of the United States Girl Scouts March 12 at the Lee Child Development Center.
At one time, many may have thought Girl Scouts were just girls who went out and sold cookies, and learned girly stuff like how to cook or sew. Girl Scouts may cook around a campfire or sew on their badges, but as their motto reads "Be Prepared" and their slogan reads "Do a Good Turn for the Day," they are also learning independence and to be charitable.
Like their counterparts in the Boy Scouts, the Girl Scouts earn badges, camp and earn awards for community service or work on their Silver or Golden Award (the equivalent to an Eagle Scout).
"We took the girls on an overnight trip on the Intrepid," Diana Ringquist, community chair and Troop 186 co-leader, said. "On another trip, the girls stayed overnight in the Museum of Natural History."
No cooking here, but learning a bit of history and something about paleontology just might be a valuable learning experience. Girl Scouts earn badges for community services and most really enjoy getting out and doing something for the community and their country.
"I contacted a troop in Pennsylvania," 11-year-old Anika Floersheim, who is working on her Bronze Award, said. "I asked them if they wanted to be a part of being a pen pal for a day. It was part of World Thinking Day."
World Thinking Day is an activity with global and national themes to honor Girl Scouts, Girl Guides (the British version of Girl Scouts) and other Girl Scouts from various countries.
The theme for 2012 World Thinking Day is----Girls Worldwide Say, "We can save our planet."
World Thinking Day is one way of learning that, in many ways, we are all part of the same community.
Gabi Martinez is working for her Silver Award and is considering a project to bring back Flag Day.
"No one ever does anything about Flag Day (June 14) anymore," Martinez said. "What I want to do is set flags around the pedestrian bridge near the Youth Center."
Girl scouting in the military is difficult because although there are many adults who are willing to volunteer to be leaders, they are only there for a short time and sometimes leave a scout troop without a leader.
This has happened at West Point recently, but a few West Point Girl Scouts stepped up and accepted the challenge.Ringquist said the younger set of scouts, the Daisies (girls five and six years old), didn't have a leader and was in danger of being disbanded.
"There were adults that were willing to help, but really didn't know how," Ringquist said. "But Lydia Ringquist, Peyton Ashley and Brianna Brook, who have been in the Girl Scouts two years, said they would lead the Daisies as long as the adults are there for supervision. All three have Silver Awards. The adults were willing and it worked out and they were quite impressed with the girls who they said were excellent leaders."
This was Amanda Farner's fear as her daughter Kaitlyn was a Brownie and moved to West Point in August.
"I'm a foreigner (British) and my daughter was in the Brownies," she said. "When we came to a military base, there were a lot of things to deal with. I was a foreigner, we were looking for housing, finding our way around, but after contacting a lot of people, we did find out that West Point had a Brownie troop, which made my daughter very happy. We had to wait for housing, but she had a Brownie troop. I also volunteered, which helped me make many friends."
Kaitlyn Farner, 7, is enjoying the learning experiences the Brownies afford its members.
"I like learning things," Kaitlyn said. "I learned about the Loch Ness monster in Scotland."
Although Kaitlyn is fond of "Nessie," she's also looking forward to a future camping trip at West Point. In the past year, the West Point Girl Scouts have participated in numerous activities to include the Veterans Day flag placement, the Red Cross holiday mail for heroes program, clothing drives and they supported the Eagle Scout Project Food Drive.
"I like the Girl Scouts," Kira Floersheim said. "It's like a community allowing you to be with others. There's a sense of family."
For more information on joining the West Point Girl Scouts, visit www.westpointgirlscouts.com.
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