Members of Girl Scout Troop 1098 earned Bronze Awards through their collaborative efforts to help children at the Children’s Home of Burlington County. MILLSTONE — The young ladies of Girl Scout Troop 1098 gave a spirited presentation at a recent meeting of the Township Committee.
The sixth-grade pupils were presented with certificates and a proclamation by municipal officials on Dec. 17. The community’s leaders recognized the Scouts for receiving their Bronze Award.
Troop leaders Theresa Pugliese and Jody Dona said they appreciate the recognition shown by the township. They said the girls worked hard to include elements of planning, leadership and community service in their project.
Committeeman Michael Kuczinski presented certificates to the Scouts who earned their Bronze Award — Alyssia Carotenuto, Erica Layman, Stephanie Costello, Maeve Muha, Isabella Dona, Alyssa Pugliese, Ryan Emken, Sophia Schindel, Georgia Kuchar and Amanda Kennedy.
Pugliese said the Bronze Award is the highest honor a Junior Girl Scout can receive.
The girls wanted to complete a public service project that would benefit children. First they did research. They met with the director of the Children’s Home of Burlington County to discuss the needs of the children there and to figure out how they could help.
The girls learned that about 80 children ranging in age from 8 to 18 needed items they could not provide for themselves.
Girl Scout Alyssa Pugliese said the troop’s visit to the children’s home was moving, and inspired the Scouts to work even harder.
“It was sad when we realized the kids were there because they could not live with their families,” Alyssa said. “We wanted to collect things they would like and need. It was important to let them know we were thinking about them.”
After visiting the children’s home, the Scouts concentrated their efforts on making a difference. They designed fliers and held a drive to collect books, school supplies, arts and crafts supplies, and toiletries. They posted the fliers in Millstone Township schools, and the information was posted on the school district’s website.
The girls continued to get the word out by working in the community. They shared the fliers when they partnered with the Millstone MOMS Club and helped the women of that organization prepare for a spring egg hunt. The girls made crafts for the event, and in April they attended the egg hunt at Wagner Farm Park and ran the games and crafts for all the children who attended.
“We enjoyed this community service opportunity to work with children,” Alyssa said. “It was gratifying to share our fliers for the donation drive and to get such a wonderful response from them. We received boxes and boxes of books and some school supplies from the MOMS Club.”
The Scouts secured more donations while hosting an Introduction to Scouting Day at the community center. Once again, the girls helped out with crafts and games. They gave a special touch to the day by microwaving s’mores for the youngsters in attendance, and they shared information about joining Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts.
After several weeks of collecting, sorting and organizing the donations, the Scouts visited the children’s home on Aug. 25 and dropped off more than 20 large boxes filled with school supplies, arts and crafts supplies, books, toiletries and DVDs.
Theresa Pugliese thanked Millstone Township Elementary School Principal Stephen Wisniewski for meeting with the troop members to discuss the project before the young women began the collection.
She said she believes it was educational for the Scouts to take a childcare class at CentraState Medical Center, Freehold Township, to learn the concepts of childhood growth and development.
The girls also worked with the Millstone Township Fire Department to each earn a Junior First Aid Badge.
The girls ultimately took and completed the Girl Scout Agent of Change Journey.
“This helped our troop to discover our individual power of one, our troop’s power of team, and how by working together we could affect change within the power of the community,” Pugliese said.
“As troop leaders, we were proud of our girls on many levels — their concern, compassion and willingness to help. We also felt their eyes were opened to some of the difficulties other children their age must endure, and this gave them a new appreciation for and perspective on their lives,” she added.
Girl Scout Isabella Dona said it was an enjoyable experience to work together with her fellow troop members.
“We are kids who share the same interest of helping other kids through community service, teamwork and leadership,” Isabella said.