Springing Foward...
Spring has sprung and with it we've had beautiful sunshine, lots of rain, and the occasional cold spell. We even lucked out with a somewhat mild winter, which was good news for girls selling cookies—many of whom set a goal to earn a free week at summer camp!
The summers I worked as a counselor at Girl Scout Camp were some of
the best summers of my life, and I know the same is true of so many adults and girls in our council. I was so happy to meet with 97-years “young” Mary Lafferty who attended Camp Hoffman as a child and later returned to work there as a camp counselor for 8 years. Mary remained in Rhode Island rather than moving closer to family because she wanted to stay near her Girl Scout friends who frequently visit her. The greatest lesson she learned in Girl Scouting is that “everyone is equal and all deserve to be heard”. What a beautiful thing for Mary to have learned from Girl Scouting—just think of the many children whose lives Mary touched at camp and through her years serving as an educator. Mary made sure that each child was heard; there is no greater gift than knowing that you and your ideas matter!
I so encourage our Girl Scout members and their friends to attend Girl Scout Day or Resident Camp. Any girl can come to camp even if she is not a Girl Scout! All of our camps are special places and girls attending Day Camp at Camp Cookie this summer can look forward to something new. Thanks to a wonderful gift from The Champlin Foundation we are constructing a yurt village! A yurt is a circular wood-framed structure traditionally used by nomads in the steppes of Central Asia. Our yurt village will be comprised of three yurts on a wooden platform that connects all three yurts into a village. Girls will be able to stay in the yurts this summer if they are complete! Minimally, they will have the experience of helping our Property Managers with the final touches of the platform construction and be the first girls in GSSNE to see the new yurts!
Looking forward to seeing you at one of our camps this summer!
Happy Spring,
Your CEO - Pam