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

Camping is one of my favorite parts of Girl Scouting, so when I was asked to help Senior Troop 7269 and join them on a camping trip to Camp Woodhaven, I jumped at the opportunity!

I approached their leader with the idea of working on the “High Tech Hide & Seek” IPA (badge) because I have recently picked up the hobby of geocaching and that’s what this IPA is all about. I wanted to get the girls out and about and present them with a challenge and I picked the “Five Hundred Steps” cache. All signs pointed towards this being a difficult hike but the girls enthusiastically said “Bring it on!”

After finding a parking spot and trailhead, we headed up the hill. Initially, the trail was just a mild incline but it quickly became clear what we had gotten ourselves into. The trail is part of the Blue Mountain Climbing Club and the 500 steps were made up of rocks.

We climbed, scrambled, huffed and puffed our way up what one girl described as a “Vertical Boulder Field.” We quickly rose almost 700 ft in elevation in just about a half mile of distance. And with every rock we conquered, the view became more and more spectacular.

When we finally reached the top, each girl paused and enjoyed the spectacular view. Even though it was a bit cloudy, everyone could appreciate the beautiful scene before us!

After a brief rest, the girls began to search for the cache. GPS units in hand, they fought their way through pickler bushes and over fallen logs. Eventually, an “I found!” rang out at the top of the mountain and the rest of the group came to see the hidden treasure! The group signed the log book and left in the cache a special Travel Bug attached at a Camp Woodhaven patch.

The trip down was just as challenging as the trip up the rocky incline but we made it! The rest of the weekend was spent relaxing at camp, making a horror movie, and cooking over the open fire.

These girls have been involved in Girl Scouting for years and have come to appreciate the opportunities and challenges that are before them. They had such a fantastic attitude about the trip and their mantra of “Bring it on!” is one that we all can embrace when faced with a challenge - either in Girl Scouts or in life.


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

My tummy is full! My husband and I, along with one of my co-leaders from Troop 71515 just got back from Girl Scout Troop 7269’s first ever Spaghetti Dinner! This is going to be a regular monthly event for the Senior/Ambassador troop from Souderton. The girls are working on raising money for a trip to the Europe to go visit one of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts World Centers.

When we arrived, we were greeted by our lovely hostess, Hope. She escorted us to our table and within seconds, our waitress Nancy was taking our drink orders and getting us salads. Our dinner was a hearty portion of spaghetti, meatballs and garlic bread. The girls finished up the feast with an assortment of desserts including brownies, cakes, and cookies. Yummy! The church hall was festively decorated in red and white and the troop even provided live musical entertainment!

Tickets for adults cost $8 in advance, $8.50 at the door. Children under 12 and seniors were $5.00 in advance and $5.50 at the door. A good deal for anyone looking to support a local group and get a good, home made meal!

I think it’s important to support the local Girl Scout troops and organizations. These girls are super busy between school, work and sports and yet they are dedicated to making this trip of a life time happen! There are several Older Girl troops in the Indian Valley Service Unit all working towards different goals and heading on different trips in different parts of the world. Support these girls! Check back on the IVSU website for more information about next month’s Spaghetti Dinner and stop by for a bite to eat!

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

Last night Cadette Troop 71515 hosted the first ever Indian Valley Service Unit He & Me event.  Daisies, Brownies and Juniors came with their special guy (Dad, Grandpa, Uncle) for a Mardi Gras Masquerade.  We had over 80 couples in attendance. 
 
Troop 71515 has been planning this event for weeks now.  The girls are in 7th-9th grades.  Some have been in Girl Scouting for years, some just joined recently but they all absolutely love doing things with the younger Girl Scouts.
 
Back in December we picked a theme for our event.  The girls decided on Mardi Gras because it would be a fun decorating scheme.  We started making decorations and planning at our New Year's Eve slumber party and worked on planning the event for the next three meetings.  The girls picked and planned the playlist, menu (yes, we served pancakes because that's what they wanted!), decorations, and activities.  The girls were broken down into committees to share the responsibilities.
 


As their leader, I could not have been more proud of how they pulled off the event.  Each committee executed their tasks beautifully.  When we arrived at the church, the decorating committee immediately started making the fellowship hall sparkle with disco lights, mardi gras masks, garland and signs.  The music committee cranked up the volume as they worked out the kinks in the sound system.  The food group started making their pancakes and mixing their drink.   The photography group set up their home made backdrop and activities girls prepared their crafts. 
 
By the time the guests arrived, the hall was transformed.  Little girls and their dates showed up one by one.  The "guys" wore jackets and the girls wore frilly dresses.  We even had a Cinderella and Prince Charming show up!   Troop 71515 was a little worried that no one would dance, so the non-essential workers spent all of their free time on the dance floor encouraging the girls and their guys to dance as well.  By the time they got to the chicken dance, the dance floor was packed with couples.   Perhaps the most moving moment of the night was when we played Wind Beneath My Wings and all the younger scouts slow danced with their guys! 
 
Of course no event goes off without a hitch.  We experienced some minor audio problems but the girls handled it like champs and our guests quite understood. 
 
All in all, the night was so much fun for everyone involved.  Troop 71515 thanks everyone for their help and enthusiasm and they can’t wait to host this event next year!

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