Fallston Girl Scouts Give Quilt Of Valor To Maryland Soldier

FALLSTON, MD — Two Girl Scouts from Fallston were honored recently for putting their patriotism into action. Angelina Woodford and Jules Vaughn were among those recognized this week at Youths Benefit Elementary School during the school's Patriot Assembly.

The 10-year-old girls, who are both members of Girl Scouts of Central Maryland Troop 1638 in Fallston, presented a Quilt of Valor last month to a Maryland soldier in Hanover.

The recipient was one of several soldiers who deployed together that were selected to receive the quilts as an award for military service, according to Troop 1638 Leader Chel Woodford, who is also a Gulf War veteran.

"A quilter friend in Texas and I got together to organize a multi-state simultaneous surprise gifting of Valor quilts..." Woodford said, as to how the effort came about. Angelina and Jules delivered the Maryland quilt while their counterparts presented a Quilt of Valor simultaneously to soldiers in Texas and Oklahoma.

The honoree was Brandon Deen Sr., who served in Afghanistan.

"Angelina and Jules were very excited and honored to award our Maryland soldier—and they were also excited to don their full Girl Scout uniform...to show the soldier that they too wear a 'uniform' and belong to a 'Troop'—much like the soldiers they support," Woodford said. "My girls love their soldiers and law enforcement."

Angelina, whose family has a military background, has been a Girl Scout in Fallston for six years; and Jules, whose family is in law enforcement, has been a Girl Scout for three years.

As students in fifth grade, they have shown they are "dedicated to not only their school's Patriot Program but putting that into action in their community and making a difference," said Woodford.

Youths Benefit Principal Thomas Smith makes the Patriot Program available to all students at the school. Students at each grade level are given different assignments, like writing a letter to Congress or completing a service project.

"As a Gulf War veteran, I am glad to see this kind of program offered" in Harford County, Woodford said.

Supporting Jules and Angelina in their efforts to complete the requirements of their school's Patriot Program was their teacher Mrs. Boyd, according to Woodford, who attended Monday's Youths Benefit Patriot assembly.

"The families of these two girls know this is not only a school Patriot ceremony we are celebrating—it’s much bigger than that for these girls, and we couldn’t be prouder," Woodford said. "We are honored to continue to be of service to our local military, vets and law enforcement."

Troop 1638 of Fallston has been active in the community. Here are some of its recent projects:

• Adopting soldiers, sometimes by the unit: The troop provided “Christmas in Afghanistan” to about 35 soldiers out of Fort Riley, Kansas. Each soldier was given an individual stocking as well games, necessities and of course, cases of Girl Scout cookies.
• Hosting a holiday toy drive: In December Troop 1638 partnered with Joppa-Magnolia firefighters and Harford County deputies to put together a Santa run/holiday toy drive toward their Bronze Award, the highest honor given to Girl Scout Juniors. The scouts used their cookie business money to provide food for the Joppa-Magnolia Volunteer Fire Company members on "Santa duty" and deputies at the southern precinct during a holiday event for children, and they donated to the Harford County Sheriff's Office toy drive.
• Helping out the Humane Society: The scouts have donated to the animal shelter in Fallston and conducted other initiatives to give back.

"My troop has always been dedicated to military, vets and law enforcement—that’s what drives us," Woodford said, adding that each troop is different.

Jules and Angelina are different as well, in that they have taken their scouting to a new level.

During their winter break, the girls bridged to become Girl Scout Cadettes and now have their sights on a Silver Award, the highest honor a Cadette can receive. For their Silver Award project, the girls are working on a program called Quilts of Valor Under Our Wings, in which young children learn to sew and make quilts that are donated to local war veterans. Currently, the program is in the planning stages.

The Girl Scout troop is run on donations and is always happy to receive community support.

How To Support Troop 1638

To support the troop's projects related to military, veterans and law enforcement, donations can be made via Paypal to gscmtroop1638@gmail.com or through Girl Scouts of Central Maryland Troop 1638 Facebook page. For example, there is currently a request on the Facebook page for nonperishable donations to go to the Perry Point VA hospice.

To support the Quilts of Valor program, people may donate fabric and/or gift cards at Glory Bee's Sewing Center of Fallston or make a donation through Paypal to harfordmdqov@gmail.com. Gift cards to JoAnn Fabric can be mailed to Harford Maryland Quilts of Valor, P.O. Box 313, Fallston MD 21047.

Photos courtesy of Chel Woodford.