In November, more than 340 West Windsor-Plainsboro Girl Scouts gathered to make ornaments and crafts for our community. The older scouts (Juniors, Cadettes, and Seniors) designed and managed craft stations for Brownie scout troops, as well as a few daisy scouts. These events were organized by Linda Dowling and Tricia Baker, leaders of troop 1984; Frances Wonnell, leader of troop 1017 and assistant leader for troop 1287; and Rochelle Stern, assistant leader for troop 677.##M:[more]##
“The older scouts especially felt good about guiding the brownies in making simple to elaborate crafts for donation,” said Stern. “The crafts entailed making diverse ornaments from clothespin reindeer to holiday bells dipped in glitter, to worry dolls wrapped in thread. A fun assembly craft, which will go to the Jewish residential Greenwood House in Ewing, was a dreidel game bag.”
All the ornaments on the Wish Tree at Marketfair will have been made by area Boy and Girl Scouts. Also, the Girl Scouts made many holiday decorations for the Children’s Ward at Robert Wood Johnson Hospital.
While this event was a terrific leadership experience for the older scouts, the younger scouts enjoyed themselves. “It was fun to do those little snowmen with the marshmallows and Hershey kisses and little toothpicks,” said Rachel Yaffe-Bellany, a first grade Brownie. “I liked doing the bookmarks and the ornaments that were angels.”
Working with older girls at this event and similar events has inspired some of the brownies. “My third grade girls want to do what the older scouts do,” said Phyllis Bistrais, co-leader of brownie troop 1847. “They want to lead and teach other scouts how to do crafts. Even though my girls are only in the third grade, we’re going to let them try.”
“It was great knowing that the crafts and holiday cards were going to nursing facilities, the Marketfair wish tree, organized by the Princeton Junior Women’s League, Meals on Wheels, and our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan,” said Stern.
If you are interested in joining the Girl Scouts (as a girl or as an adult leader), call Louisa Ho at 609-371-2119 or send an E-mail to girlscoutswwp@verizon.net.
