The girls in Girl Scouts Cadette Troop 1111 have been busy doing more than selling cookies this past year. They recently earned the organization’s Silver Award — the highest award a Girl Scout Cadette is eligible for. By planning and completing a 50-hour community service project, Friendship Across Generations, the girls demonstrated leadership, organization and a commitment to community service. The troop organized a Tea and Cookie Social with the residents of the Vinson Hall Retirement Community in McLean, where senior residents are commissioned military officers and their immediate families.
The girls’ mission was to bridge the generational gap by interviewing and socializing with residents to find common threads between the past and present. They found success through shared stories of childhood pets, favorite games, music trends, summer camp adventures, family vacations, and other memories. In listening to the residents’ stories, a connection was made between the teens and the seniors, and the girls discovered many similarities in their own lives. Girl Scout songs were sung by all and each of the residents went home with a box of Girl Scout Cookies.
Troop 1111, led by Suzanne McGrath, begins its 10th year in Girl Scouts.