Girl Scout troop raising funds for Georgia Trip

HANOVER–The Hanover/Elizabeth Cadette Girl Scout Troop 5270 has their eyes on Georgia.

As the troop set its goals for this next year, they considered planning, budgeting, fundraising, recycling, serving community needs, and most memorably, travel.

The troop of seven girls will be River Ridge eighth graders in the fall, and many began scouts in kindergarten. In a planning meeting, the girl-led group decided they want to see the ocean.

The troop is planning a trip to Savannah, Ga., during summer of 2019. Savannah is the hometown of Juliette Gordon Low, the founder of Girl Scouts, and where the first scout meeting was held.

The first fund-raiser for the trip is an aluminum can collection in Hanover, for which girls sought village board approval to conduct. With a donation from the village of Hanover, the troop purchased a metal wire receptacle to use as a collection space. Collecting cans is not only defraying the cost of the girls’ trip but helping the environment, a core value of scouting.

“Having the collection bin makes recycling easy and more people are likely to recycle, which is good for the environment,” said scout Lauren Kloss.

In addition to the can collection, the girls will be at many community events with food booths. Keep an eye out for some other creative fundraising ideas they hope to pursue.

“One thing you often find with scouts is their ability to apply creativity and innovation. We look forward to seeing these other ideas develop,” leader Stefanie Johnson said.

Finally, as always, the girls will have their annual fall candy/nut sales and the traditional cookie sales.

All the fundraising will be needed as the group’s goal is $10,000, which will cover airfare and activities in Georgia.

“This is a huge goal but attainable,” leader Stacy Kloss noted. “Through the years, the girls have practiced financial literacy.”

Back in 2012, the troop coupon-clipped its way to filling the Hanover and Elizabeth food pantries. The girls collected and clipped coupons finding the best deals to buy as much non-perishable foods as they could within their budget.

None of the girls have traveled to Georgia and some have never seen the Atlantic Ocean.

“Knowing this and another core value of scouting is travel and global community, we decided it is important to help the girls see this through,” said assistant leader Diane Hamilton.