Girl Scouts Become Part of After School Program

It’s official. Girl Scout Troop 1569 will be an enrichment class offered as part of the Maricopa Unified School District’s After School Program. Meetings will begin at 4 p.m. and end at 5:30. The first meeting will be held on January 4 in room 20 at the Maricopa Elementary School with another meeting on January 18.

Troop multi-level membership is composed of girls ages 8-17 and in the grades 4-12. Junior Girl Scouts are the 8-11 age group. You do NOT have to attend Maricopa Schools to belong. Maricopa Girl Scouts belong to the Sahuaro Girl Scout Council of Tucson, one of more than 300 local offices in the nation. Melissa Gutierrez is the Council’s Membership Representative. Locally Troop 1569’s adult leaders are Lisa Lewis and Lisa Garcia.

Girl Scout leader Lisa Lewis (right) reviews badge requirements with Elizabeth Dallas (left) and Christy Rodriguez-Diburgo at a recent informational meeting.

“We are very excited about being able to offer girls living Maricopa the opportunity to be a part of Girl Scouting,” explained Ms. Lewis. “Girl Scouting offers girls the opportunity to have fun learning new things in an environment that is created ‘By Girls, For Girls’.”

For juniors there are approximately 117 Girl Scout badges, which are earned by completing specific requirements for each badge. Architecture, Caring for Children, Camera Shots, Hiker, Ms. Fix-it and Money Sense are just a few of the badge titles. Recently girls have been working on their Pet Care badge as well as the Toymaker badge, which includes utilizing recycled materials to make a toy like coffee can stilts.

Each badge lists about 10 requirements for its completion. Members discuss and choose six of the 10 in order to earn the desired badge. According to Ms. Lewis, “At this age level, the girls are very involved in making decisions about what they will do at meetings and what activities they would like to try. They might give presentations to the Brownie Troop which would show leadership and responsibility.”

Girls 12-17 may earn any of 78 Interest Project Awards, including American Patriotism, Backpacking, Fashion Design, Media Savvy, Pets, Sports for Life and Just Jewelry.

Juliette Gordon Low held the first Girl Scout meeting in 1912. She wanted to bring girls into community service and nature and out of their isolated homes. Beginning with 18 girls from Savannah, Georgia, membership now totals four million girls and adults in the United States, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands and more than 80 countries. More than 50 million American women are former Girl Scouts.

Girl Scouts of the USA is the world’s largest organization endeavoring to help girls everywhere build character and self-esteem while gaining skills for future success. Most girls join a local troop for fun and friendship. They also share new experiences and serve their communities.

Troop 1569 has lots of new programs and special activities designed by girls for girls. If you are interested in learning more about Maricopa’s Girl Scout program, contact Lisa Lewis at (520) 568-1572 or by email.