Happy International Women’s Day! March 8 is dedicated to uplifting the power of women and girls across the globe, who are challenging gender stereotypes and shattering glass ceilings every day of the year. To all the girls and women in our council, we applaud your dedication, strength, and perseverance this year and every year.
Over the past year, we have seen Girl Scouts step up in major ways to help their communities through the challenges of the pandemic. Girl Scouts as young as Daisies and Brownies are making an impact through service, and Girl Scouts from the Waukegan, IL area are making this impact every single week through their donations to the Roberti Community House.
Since last spring, many children who relied on their schools to receive lunch began to experience food insecurity; through the efforts of several troops in the area, Girl Scouts are now delivering between 200 and 400 sack lunches to the Roberti Community House weekly. Read on to meet one of the organizers of this project, Katherine Najjar, and some of the Girl Scouts who have been involved!
Tackling Food Insecurity, One Week at a Time
Katherine, Girl Scout troop leader and Cookie Manager for her Service Unit, came to the Roberti Community House with extra cookies left over from the season and left with a service opportunity for her and her girls to impact their community. As a result of the pandemic, “the need for food really skyrocketed,” Katherine explained, “and there’s already a lot of food insecurity in Waukegan.”
“What started with the Girl Scout cookies moved to these bags,” she continued, and now the service project, which has Girl Scouts putting together sack lunches for the Roberti Community House food pantry, has several troops in the area involved, collecting at least 200 bags per drop-off.
The impact of their service goes beyond the numbers, with Katherine reflecting, “It’s been really helpful for [the girls] to understand that there are so many people that just want a simple lunch. I think that by seeing the lines outside of the food pantry, they can see that we can really make a difference in our community.”
One of the participating troops, Brownie Troop 47764, collects 50 sack lunches to donate every other month. They affirm the importance of the service they’re doing: “It’s important to help people; everyone deserves something,” Girl Scout Vivian shared.
Spring and Summer Programs Are Now Open!
As part of Kellogg’s commitment to creating Better Days for 3 billion people by the end of 2030 and inspire healthier eating habits in children, the company is partnering with Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana (GCNWI) to create 5,000 specialty Wellbeing Boxes, filled with fun activities and information focused on educating and nurturing your physical, emotional, and societal wellbeing.
You can get a FREE Wellbeing Box when you register for a GCNWI program!
Celebrate Girl Scout Week With Us!
Each year Girl Scouts across the country come together to celebrate Girl Scout Week, which is observed the week around March 12- the “Girl Scout Birthday”- and is filled with many traditions.
This year we’re breaking the mold and celebrating the ENTIRE MONTH! Frankly, after the year we’ve all had, seven days isn’t enough for us to say thank you to you all for keeping the Girl Scout heartbeat strong.