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E UNRTG LTIOFDEA Y LPEAE R SB
MARCH 2, 2012
Girl Scouts Celebrate 100th Anniversary Therese P. Howe For Parent Life
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One hundred years ago, a Savannah socialite named Juliette Gordon Low gathered 18 girls for a meeting that was the genesis of what would become an international organization that counts more than 3.2 million girls and adult members today. Here in Loudoun, about 5,200 girls belong to Association 70 of the Girl Scout Council of the Nation’s Capital, which encompasses Northern Virginia, Washington D.C., and parts of Maryland and West Virginia. “We don’t just sell cookies, we don’t just have troop meetings, we do high adventure [activities], we do community service, we build leadership in girls,” Association cochairwoman Harriet Thompson said. “We give them opportunities to do things that they wouldn’t necessarily do on their own and we provide an environment where they feel comfortable and confident to do that.” In celebration of the 100th birthday of the Girl Scouts, Thompson and other association officials have planned more than a year’s worth of events, starting with a singalong last October at Ida Lee Park that brought about 550 girls and adult volunteers together. All of the events have a community service component, from making holiday cards to be delivered by the Meals on Wheels program to collecting food and clothing donations, Thompson said. “The events have been
very well-received. I think people are looking for things that are already planned, ready to go.” The Association has not planned an event, however, for June. Instead, Girl Scouts from around the world have been invited to a national event that is expected to draw hundreds of thousands to the National Mall. On June 9, about 200,000 Girl Scouts are expected for the 100th Anniversary Singalong called Rock the Mall. “We didn’t want to do anything to detract from that,” Thompson said. While many of the activities are open to Girl Scouts only, a project they are working on now will be open to the public in October. “We’re working with Temple Hall Farm; they’re going to...design their corn maze for the year with [the theme] Girl Scouts celebrating 100 years. We have a contest for Girl Scouts in Loudoun to come up with the design. We have to have the design finalized and picked by May 1 because they actually plant the corn in the shape. I thought they went back in and cut it down but they plant it that way. Who knew?” Girl Scouts have until March 16 to submit a design. For more information about the design contest, visit the Association website at http://gscnc-assn70.org or call the Girl Scout Leesburg office at 703-777-5644. Asked how the organization continues to attract members at a time when other activities compete for their attention, Thompson
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Photos courtesy of Harriet Thompson and Diana Kane Top: Loudoun Girl Scout volunteers have scheduled a year’s worth of activities to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the organization, including this singalong at Ida Lee Park in October. Above: A display of memorabilia celebrates 100 years of Girl Scouting; the display was placed in the Purcellville Library earlier this year.