Girl Scout Troop Donates 75 Bags to Battered Women’s Shelter

The Girl Scout Bronze Award, according to the Girl Scouts United States of America, is “the highest honor a Girl Scout Junior can achieve.” Girls wishing to achieve this honor need to complete 20 project hours on a project of their choice.

Members of Girl Scout Troop 40867 from Orange Avenue School are only a few steps away from boasting that prestigious award, and are currently in the process of submitting paperwork to the Girl Scouts Heart of New Jersey to receive approval.

The group of 10 girls raised funds and donated 75 tote bags filled with blankets, books and stuffed animals to the Madison House in Elizabeth, as a part of Project Night Night.

The Madison House, a service offered through the YMCA of Elizabeth, is temporary housing for women and children in need of a safe and caring environment.

“The girls decided on doing [the project],” explains troop leader Amy Robinson. “I introduced [Project Night Night] to them and they thought it was a fantastic idea.”

Project Night Night was an organization “the girls could relate to.” The troop realized that there were children who did not have access to basic necessities like a stuffed animal, security blanket or book to read. They wanted to try and help these children obtain what the troop has access to every day.

“They collected stuffed animals from students at Orange Avenue School and did various fundraisers like bake sales and a Princess Fest at the Community Center for Daisies and Brownies,” explained Robinson.

The troop managed to collect more than 100 stuffed animals from their classmates.

For the Princess Fest, the troop set up the Community Center to look like a castle and set up various stations for the girls to attend. Attendees were taught how to decorate cupcakes, then made wands, painted their nails, read stories together and finished the day with a cat-walk to show off their princess costumes.

The books put into the totes were mostly donated within the troop. They ranged from baby books to pre-teen books for both boys and girls. Some of the blankets provided were made by both the troop and family members. Others were donated and purchased.

Project Night Night, stationed in San Francisco, Calif., charges $3.50 per tote, which it then entrusts volunteers to fill and take to local shelters. Tote payments, according to the site, covers the expenses the organization incurs by purchasing the totes and shipping them.

“We started the project… in October, did fundraising in the winter and spring and.. compiled everything in May and June and took everything to the shelter this week,” states Robinson.

“I’m very proud of everything they did, from the inception of the project all the way through,” Robinson said.