Girl Scouts celebrating special week

LIMA – Girl Scouts of Western Ohio join Girl Scouts around the nation to make the world a better place and celebrate Girl Scout Week, March 6-12. The week honors the 99th anniversary of Girl Scouting in the United States, which falls on March 12.

We believe that one girl can make a difference, and that girls together can change the world. The Girl Scout experience gives young women the confidence and the tools to lead, so they will make a difference in the world. We help girls discover who they can be and what they can do, wherever they choose to put their energies. To discover what girls can do, Girl Scouts gives girls participation opportunities as varied as the world – so different leadership roles can be “tried on” and girls can grow into the ones that best fit.

One young woman taking the lead in her community is Abigail Sovino of Ada, who is working on her Girl Scout Gold Award. Sovino’s project was to create quilts for terminally ill children at Mercy Children’s Hospital in Toledo. She organized volunteers to hold a Quilting Bee Day where they created the quilts. Sovino has also established a local guild to continue sewing these quilts in the future.

Another young woman working on her Girl Scout Gold Award is Allison Fitzgerald of Kalida. Fitzgerald’s project is “Sweets for Sour Times” – she is creating kits for families of ICU patients to use to stay focused and “pass the time” while their family member is in the hospital. She is working closely with the spiritual director at St. Rita’s Medical Center and the coordinator for Respect for Life in the Catholic Diocese of Toledo to determine what families need and how her kits will meet those needs.

These are just two examples of young women who are developing their leadership skills through Girl Scouts. In keeping with its tradition of meeting the changing needs of girls, Girl Scouts proudly provides the Girl Scout Leadership Experience, which fosters specific leadership qualities such as self-esteem, positive values, critical thinking, community spirit and the ability to educate and inspire.