Community service projects for Girl Scouts are not just for December. With Thanksgiving, Christmas and Chanukah comes the pleas for gifts, food and other kinds of donations to help families in need during this festive time of year.
Of course, we all want to help out. It is the compassionate thing to do. We want to teach our girls to “make the world a better place”, one of the Girl Scout Laws.
I just think that these kinds of community service projects should be thought about during the other seasons we are leading our girls.
For the fall, have your troop fill backpacks of school supplies for needy schools. Or make gift baskets of supplies for schools in need of them.
Hold a book drive to donate to needy preschools and elementary schools in low income areas where children may not have books at home to read.
Have a food drive in the spring, when most food pantries will be more bare than during the winter food drive season.
In the winter, collect new hats, gloves and scarves to donate to a local shelter.
Older girls can learn how to knit simple hats to donate to Neonatology Intensive Care Units for premature babies.
While my girls will do a community service project to help the homeless this December, we will be doing a different kind of project in the spring.
