GSWPA Annual Report 2015-16 | Page 8

Amazing G.I.R.L.s (Go-getters, Innovators, Risk-takers, Leaders) Cookies take Girl Scouts to the moon (and back!) Many love eating Girl Scout cookies, but few know the amazing adventures that those boxes of yummy treats provide for Girl Scouts. Troop 51514 from Wexford funded an exciting trip to the moon on a space shuttle using the proceeds they earned through the Cookie Program. Not the actual moon, of course, but a simulated journey at The Challenger Center at Wheeling Jesuit University in West Virginia. “We all had different jobs in the simulation and then built and launched rockets made out of paper,” said Amy Herne, co-leader of the Junior troop. “The girls had to do a budget, purchase the parts, and each person on the team had a defined role, like safety manager.” The trip was made possible by the girls’ participation in the annual Girl Scout Cookie Program. “We funded space camp 100% with cookie money,” Herne said. “The girls didn’t pay a dime.” Greensburg Girl Scouts deliver cookies to local first responders Girl Scouts from Troops 27038 and 26831 in Greensburg delivered Girl Scout Cookies to local police, firefighters, paramedics, and other emergency personnel in April. The girls collected donations for the cookies at booth sales in the month of March during the annual Girl Scout Cookie Program. They raised enough donations to purchase 300 boxes of cookies, which they delivered in person to volunteer fire departments, the police department, the emergency room at Westmoreland Regional Hospital, and other local agencies throughout the Greensburg area. “The girls wanted to thank the men and women who work to keep us safe,” said Chrissy Schaeffer, leader of Troop 27038. “We’ve always had great support from them, especially from the Crabtree Volunteer Fire Department, so the girls wanted to find a way to give something back.” 8 Girl Scouts Western Pennsylvania 2015-2016 Annual Report