Letter to the Editor: 19-Year-Old Girl Scout Camp DIrector Is an Inspiration

To the editor:

I am the co-Service Unit Manager of the Vista Star Girl Scout Service Unit, which in Girl Scout-speak means that I am a volunteer coordinator for all the Girl Scout troops in Hopkins School District 270 (Hopkins, parts of Minnetonka, Eden Prairie and Golden Valley).

We have an exceptional feel-good saga happening. Early this year, we were approached by a college freshman named Megan Gonzalez who wanted to undertake the enormous task of running a summer day camp for the girls of Minnetonka and Hopkins under our sponsorship. The camp had been led for the previous 18 years by a local woman whose children aged out of Scouts and who chose to close this chapter of her volunteer life.

We have a plucky, 19-year-old, tiny in size and huge in spirit, who may be our council's youngest trained camp director. Without her initiative, this local summer resource would have died since there were no other volunteers willing to take on the project.

Patch has previously covered Megan's volunteer activities in the and her work as a .

In honor of the 100th Anniversary of Girl Scouting in 2012, Megan chose the camp theme of "This is our Legacy"– apt both for the history of the Girl Scout movement and the spunky little girl who loved to go to camp so much that she wanted other girls to be able to have the same experience.

I think other people would be inspired by Megan's story. We also have space for a few more girls for the July 30 through Aug. 2 session and would like to let the community know.

Grants are available so that no girl who wants to participate will be turned away. Maybe one of them will love the camp so much that, one day, she will come to us and be the next Megan!

Laurie Powell Anderson