Nearly 300 Englewood girls sang, danced and opened up presents together Monday.

Girl Space, an afterschool program offered by Girls Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana, held its first Christmas party at Friendship Center in suburban Country Club Hills.

Girls from Sherman, Hendricks, Parker, Henderson, Basil, Dulles, and Libby came out. CEO Nancy Wright said the party was put on to “celebrate” them.

“We’re very fortunate to be in these communities and serve these girls,” she said. “It was really about celebrating them and bringing joy into their lives.”

Originally they were going to keep the party small and invite 30-35 scouts, Wright said. But so many schools wanted to get involved they decided to expand the event.

The program has three components: financial literacy, education and healthy living. They focus on each area for 12 weeks of programming.

On Monday, the girls wrote letters to veterans and seniors living in nursing homes. They played games, danced and sang Christmas songs. Each girl left with one gift and a backpack.

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