Freeholders Proclaim Girl Scout Week 2018 in Morris County

Published on March 15, 2018

CELEBRATE 101 YEARS OF GIRL SCOUTS IN MORRIS COUNTY

The Morris County Board of Freeholders last night declared this week, March 12 to March 17, as Girl Scout Week in Morris County, celebrating the more than century-long accomplishments of the organization, and marking 101 years since the founding of the county's first girl scout troop in Chester in 1917.

pgoto --(l/r) front row: Scouts Cassidy Gilroy of Wharton and Anjali Chauhan of Dover: (l/r) back row: Freeholders Tom Mastrangelo, Christine Myers and Doug Cabana, Scout Kayla Smith of Mine Hill, Scout Leader Mikele Simkins, Scout Jaelyn Mitchell of Mine Hill, and Freeholders Heather Darling, John Cesaro, and Deborah Smith(JPG, 3MB) (l/r) front row: Scouts Cassidy Gilroy of Wharton and Anjali Chauhan of Dover: (l/r) back row: Freeholders Tom Mastrangelo, Christine Myers and Doug Cabana, Scout Kayla Smith of Mine Hill, Scout Leader Mikele Simkins, Scout Jaelyn Mitchell of Mine Hill, and Freeholders Heather Darling, John Cesaro, and Deborah Smith

This is a tremendous organization that helps guide the lives of so many girls and young women in our county, providing them with a positive experience, and offering them many of the tools they will employ in the future lives as leaders of our county, state and nation,'' said Freeholder Director Doug Cabana.

We are proud to acknowledge the Girl Scouts and the many contributions they make to Morris County,'' said Deputy Freeholder Director Christine Myers. The Freeholders have met and honored some of the young ladies who have earned their Gold Awards, and each time have come away impressed by the qualities of these young ladies.''

photo Freeholders Deborah Smith, Christine Myers and (far left) Heather Darling join Troop Leader Mikele Simkins and her Scouts(JPG, 3MB) Freeholders Deborah Smith, Christine Myers and (far left) Heather Darling join Troop Leader Mikele Simkins and her Scouts

The Girl Scouts found role models on the Morris County Freeholder Board, which for the first time has a female majority, including Freeholder Myers, and freeholders Kathy DeFillippo, Deborah Smith, and Heather Darling.

Accepting the Girl Scout Week proclamation from the Board of Freeholders, at a ceremony in Morristown, was Mikele Simkins, leader of Girl Scout Troop 80939 in Mine Hill, Dover and Wharton, on behalf of the Girl Scouts of Northern New Jersey.

She was accompanied by Troop 80939 Scouts Jaelyn Mitchell (her daughter) of Mine Hill, Kayla Smith of Mine Hill, Anjali Chauhan of Dover, and Cassidy Gilroy of Wharton.

Now more than ever, girls need Girl Scouting and the vital life skills we teach girls,'' said Betty Garger, Chief Executive Officer of the Girl Scouts of Northern New Jersey. Girl Scouts are dedicated to developing the next generation of female leaders, and girls need a safe, all-girl space to explore their interests and become confident in themselves and their abilities.

(PNG, 42KB)Girl Scouts of Northern New Jersey serves girls ages 5-18 in more than 160 communities in Morris, Bergen, Passaic, Sussex, and northern Warren Counties.

The origin of Girl Scouts in Morris County dates to 1917 when a young woman named Mary Minor Lewis formed a troop of five girls in Chester. Each girl paid a 25-cent registration fee to become a part of the new active educational pastime. Today, there are 15,466 girl and adult members in Morris County.

Girl Scouts offers engaging, challenging, and fun activities like earning badges, going on awesome trips, selling cookies, exploring science, getting outdoors, and doing community service projects.

The Girl Scout Leadership Experience gives girls the chance to gain important skills in the areas of STEM, Outdoors, Life Skills, and Entrepreneurship. It also offers many unique opportunities to try new things, such as robotics through the group's First Lego League robotics teams, which they have sponsored for 10 year -- with Girl Scout robotics teams winning an award every single year of competition.

Also, Girl Scouts Destinations (the Girl Scout travel program), enables girls to journey to other parts of the country or world to participate in amazing adventures such as a SCUBA diving and sea turtle encounter in Costa Rica, kayaking in Greece, attending space academy in Alabama, biking through Denmark and Sweden, or having a Great Panda Adventure in China.

Girl Scouts also fosters advocacy through the G.I.R.L. Agenda, an initiative designed to inspire, prepare, and mobilize girls and those who care about them to lead positive change through civic action.

For more information on the Girl Scouts of Northern New Jersey, visit: http://www.gsnnj.org/

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