Greenwich Girl Scouts bond at diversity event
GREENWICH — Nearly 100 Greenwich Girl Scouts explored the power of diversity with a slate of fun activities at the YWCA of Greenwich hosted by their older sister girl scouts.
This year, the “Girls Want to Have Fun” annual event tied diversity awareness to its neon-inspired theme, “Glow Your Own Way.”
Greenwich High School ninth-graders from Troop 50540 came up with the theme and planned activities to weave the message through a variety of athletic and creative activities for younger Girl Scouts.
The event, which was held Feb. 23, drew Girl Scouts from across town. “This an event where all the girls in Greenwich can spend time together and intermingle as a whole. It is such great fun,” said a leader whose troop attended.
Girl Scouts in eighth through 12th grade from troops 50212, 50136, 50540, and 50376 guided their younger scouting sisters through games and creative projects. Brightly decorated posters and presentations, created by Troop 50540, encouraged the younger girls to consider the power of equality and of how one’s own unique contributions can strengthen a group.
The evening of swimming, games and fun projects ended with a blacklighted glow-in-the-dark dance party and an exchange of traditional Girl Scout “SWAPS” of homemade pins.
“I love spending time with friends that I don’t get to see much outside of school. We really get to know each other and have fun. I also love all of the cool activities, especially the glow dance,” said 8-year-old Cecilia Orozco, of Brownie Troop 50303 and a student at North Street School.
“I usually swim alone, but at this event I have a chance to swim with my friends. It is nice that we can share these moments together,” said Sienna Syed, 9, of Junior Girl Scout Troop 50303 at North Street School.
For Troop 50540, Senior level scouts in ninth grade at GHS, the planning started months ago. The event was part of a larger goal for the troop, Demi Demakes said. They had spent the fall working through a Girl Scout Journey, which is a study program created for older scouts who are preparing to target issues in their communities.
“We planned this year’s ‘Girls Just Want to Have Fun’ event, our Girl Scout Journey Project, as a way to have fun with younger Girl Scouts and make an impact at the same time. Our Journey’s theme is sisterhood and diversity, and we incorporated that theme throughout the night,” Demakes said.
Diversity was chosen as the theme “to teach the girls an important life lesson while they are having fun with their friends,” said Coco Whittle. “We felt that by teaching them this in a fun and friendly environment, they would always remember to treat everyone with respect.”
The troop displayed posters of women from different backgrounds and their contributions to society. “Our theme involved glow in the dark decorations so we could show the girls that they can each glow their own way, have fun, and feel empowered to dream big and reach for the stars,” Neha Iyer said.
Even the treats reflected the focus on diversity, with the young girls invited to create a unique design for one of the 100 cupcakes baked by the high school scouts.
“Once you take a bite out of it they all taste pretty much the same, and in the end, they are all cupcakes,” said Audrey Mackay, as she asked the girls to consider the variety of finished cupcakes. “This is one example out of many of what diversity is. … everyone looks different on the outside, but we are all human beings deserving of equality and equal treatment.”
To start a Greenwich Girl Scouts troop, or learn more about Greenwich Girl Scouts, visit www. greenwichgirlscouts.com/