Founding Member Of Sudbury Female Scout Troop Begins Eagle Scout Quest

SUDBURY, MA — One of the first young women to join the town's first Scouts BSA troop (formerly known as the Boy Scouts) is on track to become an Eagle Scout — and she needs your help.

Savannah Butler became a founding member of Sudbury Troop 65 in 2019 after the Scouts BSA changed its rules to allow girls to join. The change also allowed young women to seek the Eagle Scout rank, historically a teenage milestone sought only by boys.

Achieving the Eagle Scout rank has to be done before an 18th birthday, and includes a requirement that scouts complete a community service project. Savannah, 17, who attends Lincoln-Sudbury High School, will soon begin a local clothing drive for Cradles to Crayons, a Quincy-based nonprofit that collects apparel for children in need. Savannah made the choice out of a desire to help women and children struggling in poverty.

"If one outfit helps one child, imagine how many children we can help with a thousand outfits! Anything people can do will help," Butler said.

The clothing drive will begin this week and run through Nov. 11. Local residents can help by dropping off new or nearly new clothes — jackets, pajamas, shoes, underwear — at several locations in Sudbury. She is also accepting cash donations for Cradles to Crayons through her Venmo account: @SavannahEagleProject_C2C

Clothing donation sites will be as follows:

Oct. 21 to Nov. 3

• Sudbury United Methodist Church, 251 Old Sudbury Road

Oct. 24 to Nov. 4

• Lincoln-Sudbury High School, 390 Lincoln Road
• Peter Noyes Elementary School, 280 Old Sudbury Road
• Josiah Haynes Elementary School, 169 Haynes Road
• Next Generation Children's Center, 307 Boston Post Road
• Little Hands Academy, 31 Union Ave.
• Massachusetts Gymnastics Center, 31 Union Ave.

Oct. 28 to Nov. 11

• Goodnow Public Library, 21 Concord Road

Troop 65 began almost three years ago with just seven members, and has since grown to 43. There are also now more than a dozen scout troops in the region for young women, including in Milford, Marlborough, Hudson, Shrewsbury and Worcester.