“We definitely wanted to make use of this new facility to introduce any girls that haven’t been able to try out skating yet at the ice rink,” said Tina Seaton, service unit manager for Kachemak Bay Girl Scouts
Registrations are sorted by ages, with scouts put into troops that are already established, according to Kathy Pegau, registrar for Kachemak Bay Girl Scouts. Daisy Girl Scouts are girls ages 5-6 in kindergarten; Brownie Girl Scouts are girls ages 6-8 in grades first through third; Junior Girl Scouts are ages 8-11; and Studio 2B is for girls ages 11-17.
“We don’t want to overwhelm leaders, so we try to keep it to about 10 girls in a troop, and see if we need to form new troops and get new leaders to do that,” Pegau said.
Kachemak Bay Girl Scouts represents 10 troops and about 100 scouts. Each month, the scouts are involved in activities of a community nature.
“We try to do things that give back to the community,” Pegau said. “It’s important for the girls to understand that they have neighbors and it’s important to help them.”
On World Thinking Day in February the girls put together birthday bags, complete with cake mixes and party hats, for the Homer Community Food Pantry.
“In November, we decorate cards for the Giving Tree at Wells Fargo, and we go to the senior center and sing Christmas carols,” Pegau said.
In April 2006, members of Troop 580 developed a community service project that partnered with Friends of the Homer Public Library to organize a student art exhibit and library card drive for readers from kindergarten through sixth grade. That activity earned the girls bronze awards, the highest honor a Junior Girl Scout can earn.
The “Women of…” series is an annual event sponsored by local Girl Scouts. It rotates between the areas of art, outdoors, math and science. In January 2006, more than 20 local women were featured at a “Women of Math and Science” day at the Alaska Islands and Ocean Visitor Center. There, girls had the opportunity to meet nutritionists, radiologists, audiologists, microbiologists, midwives and entomologists; listen to presentations about studies of brown bears, glaciers and marine environments; and witness demonstrations in the women’s areas of interest. In 2006, the emphasis will be on women of art.
“It was very cool,” Pegau said of the one-day event.
With a $300 grant from Alaska Women Scientists, Troop 580 and Troop Leader Brenda Dolma made the event long-lasting by compiling a book of interviews with 35 women scientists.
Local businesswomen are featured during monthly sessions so scouts hear what women can do in their own communities as far as running their own business, Seaton said.
“And every other year in June we have an encampment at the state fairgrounds in Palmer. There are about 2,000 Girl Scouts there all at once for four days and we have all kinds of activities,” Seaton said. “It’s a wonderful experience for girls that have graduated from the third grade.”
Looking to the year ahead, Seaton said new leaders are needed for kindergarten, first and fourth grade ages.
“We’ve had dads be leaders. We’ve had college students be leaders. We have a high school student that is a co-leader and doing a great job. And certainly grandparents can do it,” Seaton said. “We provide training to anybody that is interested. And we do check references, so that we make sure the girls are in safe environment. We’re always looking for adults that might be interested in whatever capacity. You don’t have to be leader or co-leader. We have other jobs open.”
For more information on Girl Scouting, call Pegau at 235-6998 or Tina Seaton at 235-6903.
McKibben Jackinsky can be reached at mckibben.jackinsky@homernews.com.
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