Our mission is that “Girl Scouting builds girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place.”

Our leadership model says that girls should discover, connect, and take action.

We lived these models this weekend!

What we have casually been calling Volunteer-A-Palooza has been a super busy weekend filled with making the world a better place!

We started the weekend off on Saturday headed to the Phillies game. Not only to take in the fun of the ball park but to partner up with the ball girls and their “Red Goes Green” initiative. Each girl was equipped with a “Red Goes Green” apron and bags to collect recyclable bottles from the game’s patrons.

In between innings, the girls made their way up and down the aisles of their assigned section collecting the recyclables. By the 7th inning, the bags were filled with oodles of empty soda and water bottles. Two troops from the Indian Valley Service Unit along with a troop from the North Penn Valley Service Unit participated in this venture!

After leaving the Phils, we headed out for dinner and the back to the Valley Forge Girl Scout Service Center where we spent the night. We had to be up early on Sunday - really early!

All of the girls grumbled when the alarm went off at 4:00 a.m. However, they knew our destination and quickly dressed and packed their bags. We were out of the building by 5 a.m. and headed back to Philadelphia for something very important - volunteering at the Race for the Cure.

Month’s ago, the troop picked the “In the Pink” IPA (badge) to earn this year. The award focuses on breast cancer awareness. Several girls in the troop have personal and close connections to this disease, so learning about early detection and prevention was important to them all!

We were partnered up with the “I am the Cure” educational campaigned. Armed with handouts, pink and lime green pom pom’s and t-shirts, we headed to mile marker #2 along the race route.

The girls cheered and chanted excitedly as the first runners passed us by. The race crowd thickened to a solid group of people jogging along. And then they saw it - the endless wall of people who were supporting the cause.

For nearly two hours the girls jumped around, waved their pom poms, and chanted their cheer - “Notices changes in your breast....I am the Cure!”

Their enthusiasm didn’t break as tens of thousands of people passed us by. Each walker and survivor was welcomed with smiles and cheers.

By noon, we all had sore throats and were tuckered, but everyone was proud of what we did and our efforts for the weekend.

Every once in a while, I have a “wow” moment where the girls just amaze me. As their leader, I had the opportunity to watch the girls have the courage and confidence on Saturday to deal with the public and collect the bottles and recyclables. On Sunday, I witnessed the culmination of two month’s efforts to discover and connect and take action for breast cancer awareness.

-Tammy
IVSU Webmistress
Leader Brownie Troop 7058 & Cadette Troop 71515

I love to camp and any excuse to hunker down in the woods and smell fresh, mountain air is a good excuse to me!

Last weekend three troops from the Indian Valley Service Unit headed up to the Poconos for Work Weekend at Camp Mosey Wood. Every year, Girl Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania holds these weekends to spruce up their camps and get them ready for the long spring and summer camping season ahead!

As we pulled into camp on Friday night, we parked near the lake just as the sun was setting. Everything glowed amber as the twilight neared. My troop headed down the road to it’s site – Deerwood – which we were sharing with Troop 7269, also from the IVSU.

Upon arrival, we had to put together cots and move mattresses into the platform tents. Then we headed to the dining hall for snack (cookies…yumm!) and briefing on the weekend’s activities. Then it was back to our unit to settle down for the night in our platform tents, but not before a quick campfire.

Saturday involved getting our unit ready for the season. The girls finished putting together the cots and mattresses in each of the tens. They swept out all the platform tents and kitchen shelter and even cleaned the latrines. They washed the windows and cleaned out the firerplace. We spent a bunch of time collecting firewood and organizing the wood piles that troops will use over the coming months.

After lunch, we headed down to help with the amphitheater construction. This is where Troop 7269 spent their morning. The ladies from 7269 had worked to remove all the mulch from the amphitheater area and prep it for the stones that would be laid in the afternoon. After a couple trips up the hill with stone, we were re-routed to the health center where we did more spring cleaning. The girls took off the screens, washed the windows, bathrooms and kitchen.

After a delicious dinner, the girls enjoyed some time to just relax. We chilled on the dock as we took in another amazing sunset over the lake before deciding to skip the all camp campfire and have one of our own. I love campfires, so my only stipulation for not going to the formal event was that we had to sing songs – and lots of them!

As we gathered around the fire circle, one song quickly lead to another. Memories are always made and secrets are always shared around a fire’s glow. It’s the most special part of camping with the girls.

On Sunday after yet another delicious meal, we left Camp Mosey Wood wanting nothing more than to plan our next trip back! Camp was a little cleaner and sparkled just a little bit more thanks to efforts of the troops that stayed. The weekend was part of Girl Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania’s Green Project where girls pledged more than 10,000 hours of community service to make the world a better place!

Troop 7269 At Work Weekend


Troop 71515 at Work Weekend


Troop 7306 at Work Weekend

-Tammy
IVSU Webmistress
Leader Brownie Troop 7058 & Cadette Troop 71515

Spring is in the air and that means that it’s time for the annual Girls Go Green service unit wide clean up initiative. Girl Scout troops from across the Indian Valley Service each choose a park or a public area and commit time to spruce it up and make it look better. It’s our chance to give back to the community and make the world a better place.

Last Saturday, which was perhaps the windiest day in weeks, Brownies from Troop 7058 met at the Lawn Avenue Park in Souderton for their Girls Go Green Cleanup event. For most of the girls in this troop, this is the first year that they have been in Girl Scouting so they were all more than eager to help.

We were met by two employees from Souderton Borough. The girls were quickly put to work weeding the flower beds. “Pull out anything green!” they were told. The Brownies dug in the dirt and pulled with all their strength to rid the flower bed of weeds.

This group of girls did not hesitate to get dirty! WIthin a few minutes, their faces were smeared with mud but they were all smiles. There was laughter and glee as the girls dug up worms and grubs. When someone found a critter, they proudly showed it off before letting it go back into the mound of churned earth.

When it came time to mulch, each one eagerly took a turn pushing the wheel barrow full of mulch from the Borough truck to the flower bed where they were instructed on how to dump and spread the mulch. Before the work session was up, the few Brownies had completed a whole flower bed! The girls even helped sweep up the parking lot where some much was spilled.

If you see any troops with shovels, rakes, or trash bags, know that the GIrl Scouts from the Indian Valley are out there as part of Girls Go Green, making our community a better place!