Being a Girl Scout is about more than selling cookies and earning cute iron-on patches. It’s about young girls coming together to be a constructive force for good in their communities, spending time in the great outdoors and communing with nature.

The Girl Scouts (GS) organization has endured a tornado of change in the past few years, what with similar youth programs such as the Boy Scouts (now Scouts BSA) opening to female enrollees, not to mention the limitations of extracurricular activities in the wake of COVID-19. Yet the merry band of sashed sisters marches on, thriving albeit in new formats.

Angela Pearson, National Delegate for the Girl Scouts of Greater Atlanta council and Service Unit Director for Norcross, has served girls in the program for decades and had interesting insight into the current state of the Scouts.

“We have switched to virtual for the majority of our activities. The service unit is not pressing having any in-person events as that is a decision for families to make. Each troop is deciding what type of face-to-face activities they are participating in based upon their comfort level,” Pearson said. “Safety is an important tenant of the Girl Scout program.”

Gwinnett Girl Scouts year round

In a normal year, the Gwinnett Girl Scouts calendar would be overflowing. Girl Scouts in Duluth have participated in the Christmas Tree Cheer Project for over a decade, decorating table-top Christmas trees to bring cheer into the rooms of children hospitalized during the holidays at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta (CHOA). This year, the partner charity was Meals on Wheels, since CHOA decided not to participate for safety reasons.

“We usually send around 75 hand-decorated trees to CHOA each year. These trees go to children who are stuck in the hospital during the Christmas season,” troop leader Polly Barcena said. “Each Girl Scout troop decides the theme of their trees. I have seen so many wonderful themes over the years. Examples include Star Wars, Micky and Minnie, Candyland, Disney Princess, Minions, Winter Wonderland and the list goes on!”

In the summer, many girls spend the first week of June at Lilburn Summer Day Camp. Nearly 400 girls and volunteers enjoy activities from woodworking to outdoor cooking and science experiments to crafts. Older girls often return to volunteer as camp assistants after years of attending as campers.

Last year, the camp adopted a virtual format to allow for safe fun and fellowship. It is unclear if it will resume the virtual format for 2021, so visit lilburndaycamp.org for updates.

And let’s not forget the Gwinnett County Girl Scout Bake-Off, a staple for close to 35 years. Skillful baking relies on a knowledge of math and chemistry and helps foster an appreciation of the culinary arts. Each year, more than 100 Girl Scouts in grades K through 12 compete locally with a range of homemade goods they make — with no help from mom or dad. Contestants progress based on wins and the final county-wide competition is decided by community judges.

Though some of these events, and many others, have had to be adjusted due to the pandemic, Girl Scouts across the county still manage to connect in different ways and grow with their troops.

A different kind of troop

All troops have their purpose and their place, but some stand out for their unique function. Gamma Gamma Sigma (GGS) is a feather in the cap of Gwinnett County scouting, celebrating 10 years with 35 current Girl Scout members. It was created as an avenue to retain older girls considering leaving the GS program, open to grades 6 to 12.

“The pillars of my troop are Sisterhood, Philanthropy and Academic Excellence,” Pearson said. “We are a community driven organization that strives to help girls build courage, confidence and character to help the world be a better place.” She explained that GGS is a unique leadership development program that combines the proven outcomes of the Girl Scout Leadership Experience (GSLE) through a “sorority-type” group targeting teens.

In yet another effort to include all young women, Gwinnett Girl Scouts also offers Outreach Troops, to make sure that no girls miss out on Girl Scouts due to language or financial barriers.

“We are committed to providing accessible program opportunities where they are most needed,” said Leslie Gilliam, Communications Advisor Temp of Girl Scouts of Greater Atlanta. “This summer, Girl Scouts, in a partnership with Gwinnett County Parks, provided STEAM [Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics] kits to 400 Gwinnett girls to keep them engaged in fun, educational activities as their worlds shrank due to the pandemic.”

A shining golden light

With every unique troop, there are unique go-getters who set themselves apart. For the truly dedicated and enterprising Girl Scout, there is the high honor of the Gold Award bestowed on those who exhibit the noble qualities professed in the official Girl Scout Promise and Law. The main requirement is the completion of an extensive service project that will have a lasting positive impact on a candidate’s community.

Charlotte Burts of Norcross High School recently received her Gold Award with her project dubbed “Peachtree Corners Outdoor Education and Improvement,” which focused on environmental education for children ages 6 to 18.

Burts and her teams produced an extensive field guide about wildlife in Georgia, a children’s book about wildlife and sustainability practices, five directional signs and one message board at the Fields Club in Peachtree Corners. She has used the children’s book for literacy programs at Pinckneyville Middle School, and through this project has promoted environmental awareness at Simpson Elementary, Norcross High School, Simpsonwood United Methodist Church and Gwinnett County Public Library.

“It is crucial that people understand, appreciate and know about ways to protect the environment in their daily lives,” Burts said.

When asked about the fondest memories of her 12 years of scouting, Burts spoke of her troop hosting Father-Daughter dances. “Getting to see the girls and their dads take silly pictures and make their way through the craft tables, and reminiscing the years I did those activities with my dad, always made those nights so special to me,” she said. “My troop participated as the hosts of the dance many times, and every year we had the same excitement of picking themes and songs to give the younger girls the same amazing experiences that we had in previous years.”

Burts clearly has a strong altruistic mindset, along with the other fine young ladies of Troop 1106 that she has grown up alongside. So it makes perfect sense that she would want to make her troop proud with her Gold Award project.

“For as long as I can remember, I have always looked up to older Girl Scout members who were working toward the higher awards in Scouting. Hearing about the impacts that they made on the community and seeing the results of these projects in schools and neighborhoods made me so excited for the time when I would have the opportunity to do the same,” Burts said.

What sets Girl Scouts apart

Kids these days have many worthwhile youth and recreational programs to choose from. So the question remains: why Girl Scouts?

“Girls have unique developmental needs and participating in a program tailored to those needs has well-documented benefits. Girl Scouts is, and always has been, the expert on girls. Girl Scouts is so much more than a single-gender youth program; it’s the only one that’s girl-led!” Gilliam said.

“Girls choose the exciting, hands-on activities that interest them most—whether that’s earning badges, exploring the great outdoors, learning business skills while selling Girl Scout Cookies, or making a difference in their community.”

Gilliam expanded upon the vibrancy of the Gwinnett program, pointing out that “it’s not unusual to see three generations of Girl Scouts in a family.”

The success of Girl Scouts lies with the parents, leaders and girls who spend their time and energy to ensure its success. “Looking back, I am so glad I stepped up to be a Girl Scout Troop Leader,” Barcena said. “It was scary and unchartered territory. But my desire to develop my daughter into a servant-leader helped me to push past my fears.”

Burts explained that development through scouting happens one step at a time. “As you complete service projects, go on campouts and complete Scouting Journeys, you are able to learn so much about yourself and being a member of a community, which is an unparalleled experience for young girls,” she said.

A popular scouting song that has been around for ages (at least as far back as this writer’s tenure as a Brownie and a Junior), sums up one of the great values of scouting: “Make new friends but keep the old. One is silver and the other’s gold.”

And that leads to an old cliché that rings true: Once a Girl Scout, always a Girl Scout.