Canastota Girl Scouts seek Bronze Award

by Martha E. Conway, Canastota Bee-Journal • April 24, 2009 Canastota, New York --

The seven members of Girl Scout Junior Troop 705 are working on earning their Bronze Awards, the highest level that can be earned by junior girl scouts.

According to Troop Leader Genea Meehan, the award involves earning several badges, a sign, the Junior Aid Award and participating in a community service project. The seven girls in the troop, made up of Marisa Meehan, Holly Popple, Josephine Sgarlata, Alyssa Rapasadi, Keisha George, Jilianne Cady and Antonia Graziano-Minutoli is led by Meehan and co-leader Kittie Popple. The group has chosen to seek donations for Madison County Foster Care in order to provide filled suitcases with toiletry needs and comfort supplies for children entering the foster care system.

“We were told by a foster care worker that many times kids enter the system with nothing at all,” Meehan said. “We are actually doing an ‘Overstuff the Suitcase’ campaign where we are going to have a drop box at area stores and schools for people to drop off their donations.”

Meehan said the troop recently visited the Madison County Social Services so the girls could learn about the process.

“During our Girl Scout cookie booth sales at the Canastota P&C we handed out flyers asking people to donate items for the suitcases,” Meehan said. “We had a suitcase set up at our booth to drop items in. P&C actually said that we can have a drop box set up there, and we are going to ask Wal-Mart if we can do the same.”

Meehan said troop members also are approaching news outlets to help publicize the event and businesses to seek donations.

“We are also thinking about sending a flyer to homes in the Canastota Central School District asking for donations,” Meehan said.

The troop would like the main focus of our project to be complete during May, National Foster Care Month, Meehan said.

“We have to complete all the steps of the Bronze Award while the girls are still Juniors,” Meehan said. “They officially bridge to Cadettes at the end of September. The new Girl Scouting year starts in October of every year.”

If the work is not completed before then, the girls won’t be eligible for the award.

“Once we have all the suitcases compiled, we plan on bringing them to DSS, and they will distribute them to kids in need as they enter Madison County Foster Care,” Meehan said.

For more information or to make a donation, call Meehan at 697-5305 or email gmeehan@twcny.rr.com.

Original article, Canastota Bee-Journal retrieved on April 28, 2009