
In February, the Girl Scouts of Prospect Valley had a fun event that helped the girls learn more about their world. The event was World Thinking Day, and as such, got each of the girls thinking. Troop 3921 focused on learning about what it was like to be a Girl Scout in Japan. They learned about the limited area the people of Japan live in, the limited resources they have for food and some of the culture of Japan. On the night of the event the girls of Troop 3921 proudly showed what they had learned and helped educate the other girls about life in Japan.
On Friday, March 11 Japan was hit by two devastating blows, a 9.0 earthquake and a 23 foot Tsunami. By the time the waters settled and the waves stopped pounding the shore there were nearly 12,000 people dead and a nation shattered. The resources that barely meet the needs of those that live on the island of Japan are now nearly non-existent where the Tsunami and earthquake hit.
It is hard to imagine that just one month after our girls presented Japan at the Girl Scout World Thinking Day I would have to talk to them about what had happened. The girls were definitely upset but also very strong in their desire to help. The troop decided to make a donation to help the Girl Scouts of Japan from the money they earned selling Girl Scout Cookies. They had a choice to vote for $100, $200, $300 or $400 (the maximum they could give and still cover the costs they had planned for). It was a unanimous vote for the $400.
Still this wasn’t enough. The girls wanted to do more. They believed the need was greater than the $400 they could give. Thus the idea for a Movie Night fundraiser was born. Through a process of elimination a movie was picked. Troop 2510 offered to help out as well. They covered the food and drinks that would be sold at the event, their girls created posters to put up around the school and on the night of the event they worked hard selling the food that was donated to help raise funds.
In the end, the girls raised another $800. A check for a total of $1,200 will be going to the Girl Scouts of the United States earmarked for the relief aid to Japan. It truly is amazing what a group of young girls can accomplish when they really want to. The girls from Troop 3921 and 2510 along with some of the boys from Cub Scout Pack 736 exemplify the meaning of being a Scout.