Community service is at the cornerstone of what it means to be a Girl Scout, which is why more than 100 girls are gathering in Vernon Hills this weekend to celebrate National Girl Scout Day with the Birthday in a Bag Bash.

This Saturday, March 12, marks the 104th birthday of Girl Scouts and girls from Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana (GCNWI) are paying it forward by assembling Birthday in a Bag supplies at Gathering Places across the council. The service project invites girls to gather items, such as boxed cake, canned frosting, candles, balloons, streamers and a small toy for children at local food pantries.

“We wanted to be a part of this project to be able to help make a person’s birthday special,” said adult volunteers Karen Huber and Sue Siegel of Girl Scout Cadette Troop 40651 in Park Ridge.

Through a combined effort, GCNWI Service Unit 405 and five troops at St. Paul of the Cross School in Park Ridge brought in donations to in cake mixes, pans, cans of frosting, plates, napkins, tablecloths, birthday candles, and balloons to fill 50 birthday bags. The bags were then delivered to the parish food pantry and will be shared with the Maine Township Food Pantry and Our Lady of Angels Food Pantry.

“The girls enjoyed being part of this effort,” Huber and Siegel said. “They also had fun deciding which items to put together in the bags, such as yellow cake and pink frosting or chocolate cake with white or chocolate frosting.”

The Birthday in a Bag Bash also kicks off #100DaysOfGold to commemorate the centennial of the Gold Award, the highest award in Girl Scouting. The council-wide initiative encourages girls to participate in 100 days of doing good in their communities starting on March 12 and going through June 20.

“We’ve already been given so much in our lives, yet there are some who struggle to find basic necessities,” said Marie T., a Girl Scout Cadette with Troop 40651. “It’s our time to pay it forward and give these people what every human deserves.”