Girl Scouts at Home: Staying Connected

Imperial Valley Troop 7011’s Crispina spread some Girl Scout love and cheer in the form of personalized posters. She placed a poster with a special note for each of her Girl Scout sisters in their front yards, then called them via a group video chat to share in the joy of the surprise. 

After donating her first batch of masks to the hospitals, Junior Girl Scout Grace helped cover our essential workers. She donated masks to Trader Joe’s and Sprouts workers, and the last group she handed the masks to got so excited they blessed her with a bouquet of flowers. 

Brownie Troop 1044 did a neighborhood clean-up day for Earth Day! During stay-at-home, they’ve also enjoyed a virtual painting class together and practiced their STEM skills while baking.

One Chula Vista Girl Scout Junior has found a sweet way to help her community: she simply shares what she has. Emma and her family have been setting up a small table in their driveway filled with canned goods, fruit, vegetables, paper towels and other household essentials.

Girl Scout Troops 6942, 6357 and 5390 of the Chula Vista Service Unit made 392 cards with drawings and positive messages for the staff and residents at the Frederick Manor Care Center. The nurses placed the greeting cards on the residents’ food trays during lunch bringing a smile and happy moment to everyone.

To honor all fallen soldiers, including her great Uncle Denis, who served in Vietnam, Abigail with Troop 5099 held her own personal flag raising ceremony on Memorial Day. Unable to hold a full funeral ceremony due to quarantine, she created the perfect tribute.

As part of the Rancho Bernardo Service Unit En-Zoom-Encampment, troops purchased 140 boxes of cookies from Girl Scouts Desert Southwest council  in El Paso, Texas and donated them to local grocery stores, Rachel’s House, and God’s Extended Hand. During the online event, 107 girls wrote thank-you notes and pieced them together to form a “quilt” for essential employees. 

Girls from Troop 3882 collected $1,150 and 616 pounds of food (through creative collections and physically-distant fundraisers) for Feeding San Diego to help people impacted by the COVID-19 crisis. 

Troop 6102 had a virtual campfire where they cooked s’mores, played bingo, and did a scavenger hunt for fire-making supplies. This was the perfect way to get ready and excited for the In-Tents Campout on June 5.

Troop 1175 voted to use cookie proceeds to send quarantine care packages via Amazon to seniors and adults with special needs at a local care home. Blankets, nail polish, coloring books, and playing cards brought joy to the residents.

Second-year Brownie Siena from Troop 3958 in Scripps Ranch came up with the idea to make pet toys from mask making scraps. Selling to family and friends, she raised $85 and donated it to the San Diego Humane Society.

Troop 5912 posted signs in their San Ysidro neighborhood with the hashtag #girlpowercantbequarantined letting every passerby know just how much they appreciate the grocery store clerks, delivery drivers, medical workers, and more (video). 

Troop 2927 is creating care packages for elderly residents at nursing homes and assisted living facilities which include videos of musical performances and poetry readings and, of course, Girl Scout Cookies. Local businesses are getting involved, too, by donating face coverings and hand sanitizer to their Packaged With Love campaign.

Brownie Troop 1442 had several options for their Brownie Quest Journey project, and they voted to send letters of thanks and encouragement to San Diego PPE/Last Mile, a national volunteer network focused on getting PPE (Personal protective equipment) like masks and face-shields directly into the hands of frontline healthcare workers. 

Juniors and Cadettes from Troop 4899 surprised their troop leader with signs in her yard and a car parade for Girl Scout Leader’s Day last week. Their smiling faces brought tears of joy to her eyes. 

Sunrise Valley Service Unit is offering sewing classes in a Facebook group and raising money for SHARE (sdgirlscouts.org/share) at the same time, allowing girls, families, and troops to contribute to the #FightCOVID cause by teaching them how to make masks.

Daisy Troop 4582 had a “super” Zoom meeting where all the girls dressed as superheroes and earned the Rosie petal by sharing how they are going to help make the world a better place at home. 

Inspired by their co-leader (who is a respiratory therapist), Cadette Troop 4184 used some of their cookie proceeds to purchase snack items for tired respiratory therapists.

The completion of Troop 4895’s Financial Literacy badge included budgeting and shopping at the grocery store. They decided to donate all of the food they purchased to the Serra Mesa Food Pantry, inspiring others to share their bounty, too.