10 Local Girl Scouts Earn Bronze Award

by Pat Allen

(July 12, 2007) There is way more to Girl Scouting than selling cookies. Just ask any of the 10 sixth grade girls from Larchmont’s Junior Girl Scout Troop 2522 who just earned their Bronze Award. The Bronze Award is the highest award in Junior Girl Scouting (grades 4-6) and represents a great achievement.

The Larchmont and Mamaroneck girls started working on their Bronze Award in 5th grade by selecting an area of interest that they wanted to learn more about. About half of the troop selected “pet care” while the other half selected “child care.”

“We have a very caring and nurturing group of girls,” noted Sue Perciasepe, one of the troop leaders.

Junior Girl Scouts prepared fish snacks and projects for the pre-schoolers at the Mamaroneck Child Development Center.

Each group then had to select and complete two badges related to its topic. The “Wildlife” and “Pet Care” badges kept one group busy while the other worked on the “Caring for Children” and “First Aid” badges. In addition, the girls had to complete either the Junior Aide Award or the Leadership Award. Most chose the Junior Aide Award, which required them to work with a younger troop. They were each paired up with a Brownie Troop and taught them songs, helped them plan ceremonies and craft projects and served as role models to the younger girls.

After completing one additional award, the “Sign of the Sun” which involved a variety of community activities, the girls were ready to plan their Bronze Award projects.

The Pet Care group contacted the New Rochelle Humane Society and visited there with director Carol Springer, who helped them identify ways they could help the animals at the shelter. The girls spent time with the animals and held a drive to collect needed items. To meet the 15 hours required for their project, they also put together a program to teach Brownie Troops about Pet Care and help the Brownies earn their Pets “Try-It” badge.

Meanwhile, the Child Care group was hard at work planning their Bronze Award service project and most of the girls took it upon themselves to complete the Red Cross Babysitting Course, as well. They selected the Mamaroneck Child Development Center to work with and put together a Valentine Program for the children, involving crafts, stories and a stuffed animal “give away.” They planned to return to the Child Development Center again in May but had to postpone their plans due to the flooding damage the center sustained in the nor’easter. By June things were back in place enough for the girls to return. They had a “fish” theme program, with a “Rainbow Fish” puppet show, goldfish cracker snack, and fishing craft project.

Junior Girl Scouts presented"fish stories" at the Child Development Center.

“The children really enjoyed the program the Girl Scouts put together,” commented Denise Gilman, director of the Mamaroneck Child Development Center. “It was creative and very age-appropriate for the kids.”

“We’re very proud of the girls for earning this Award and for all of the hard work they put into designing and carrying out their projects,” commented their leader, Sue Perciasepe. “Most of these girls have been in Girl Scouts together since first grade, so it’s wonderful to see how much they’ve grown and how much they can now accomplish.”

Girls receiving the Bronze Award are: Darien Ahn, Carina Allen, Sarah Axelrad, Rennie Durr, Sabine Ginsberg, Suzanne Lasagne, Zaina Nabulsi, Christine Perciasepe, Rachel Primavera and Neidyn Regalado.

Troop 2522 is based in Larchmont and has members who attend both Hommocks and Ursuline Schools.

Pat Allen is one of the leaders of Troop 2522.

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