By Caroline Lanni
After two years of waiting for COVID-19 restrictions to be lifted, the Sterling Girl Scout Troop 30502 kept raising money and finally went to Washington, D.C. for their end of the year trip this past June.
Mother and volunteer troop leader, Meredith Tufts, along with her co-troop leader, Laura Petronino volunteered and started this group in 2013. The troop consists of 10 girls.
Tufts said that since her daughter had an interest in being a girl scout and enjoys the outdoors, she decided to become a Girl Scout troop leader.
She became one of the troop leaders when her daughter was in kindergarten.
Every year Girl Scouts earn money through selling fall products, candy, and magazines. From January-March they also conduct cookie sales. With that money the troop works towards earning a trip.
In sixth grade this troop decided to raise money to go to Washington, D.C. but due to COVID-19 restrictions they did not go on their trip until this June – by then the girls were in eighth grade.
“That [trip] just got pushed off because everything was shut down,” said Tufts.
As the troop moved up to seventh grade they decided collectively to keep raising and saving the money and wait for their trip, especially because things were still shut down, Tufts added.
She said that the group “took it in stride.”
Tufts said that due to COVID-19 it changed the way that the troop sold their cookies.
Instead of hosting cookie booths and venues, the troop had to get creative on how to sell their cookies such as digital sales, she added.
Throughout COVID-19 the troop kept selling cookies and fall products and saving their money for their future Washington trip.
At last, after waiting two years to go on the trip and fundraising for about three years, this past June the troop got to go to Washington, D.C.
The troop made an itinerary for their Washington trip because some places were still closed due to COVID-19.
The troop went to the Capitol Building when it opened back up for tours, The Washington Monument, The National Zoo, The Kennedy Center to see the performance of To Kill a Mockingbird, and The Library of Congress, said Tufts.
One of the Girl Scouts, Mattea Morini said, her favorite thing they did was seeing the To Kill a Mockingbird play.
“Our trip made me realize that I could do big things and make a difference in our country, and it empowered me in that way,” Morini added.
Another Girl Scout from the troop, Alyssa Trombley, said that she learned how to use the Metro safely.
“My favorite part of the trip was definitely going to see To Kill a Mockingbird because the story is so inspirational, and I know me and my fellow Girl Scouts had a lot of fun going to the Kennedy Center. I learned from the trip what it is like to spend a long amount of time with a select group of people and it was also one of the highlights of my summer because I got to spend so much time with my friends doing fun things,” said Girl Scout Maren Paquette.
After going on the trip Tufts said that it did help to fundraise for over a couple of years, so they had enough money to do all these activities.
Tufts added that “Girl Scouts is all about connections, community, learning by doing and giving back.”
She said that the girls enjoy learning new things, helping others, and working together.
“It’s a close-knit group,” she added.
The troop meets bi-weekly, and the girls additionally work on gaining badges.
Tufts said that the troop also partakes in town events to help raise money and be involved in the town of Sterling.
The troop has volunteered with the Sterling Gardening Club at their plant sale, town wide cleanup, First Church Saturday meals program, and made ornaments for the tree lighting ceremony.
The troop also collects donated cookie boxes for Kylee’s Kare Kits for Kids in Leominster and creates care kits for children.
The troop is going into ninth grade and are deciding their next trip – it is to be determined, said Tufts.
“It’s hard to imagine what tops this trip [to Washington] because it was awesome,” she added.
Tufts said that she is so grateful for their troop.
“What started as an activity for my daughter to meet people and for us to have a shared experience has grown into this girl scout family. We have a fantastic group of girls, incredibly supportive and helpful parents and two leaders who share the same vision of doing their best to provide the troop with the best possible experiences that help the girls become more confident, empower them to take action and provide leadership opportunities,” said Tufts.
She added, “We are grateful to the people of Sterling who have continued to be so welcoming and supportive of Girl Scouts over the years. It has been through their support and generosity that Sterling troops have been able to have these types of experiences.”
Interested in joining a Girl Scout troop, email info@gscwm.org or call 508-365-0115.