Girl Scouts Share Their Spirit & Their Books

by Pat Allen

(May 1, 2008) Promoting literacy and helping others were the twin themes selected by Larchmont and Mamaroneck Girl Scouts for this year’s Spirit Day, celebrated throughout the Heart of the Hudson council on April 12. The activities actually started earlier in the week, with the local girls donating and sorting hundreds of used children’s books. Those books for younger children were donated to the CAP Center in Mamaroneck, which houses the Mamaroneck Child Development Center. Books for grade school kids were donated to the KEEPS after-school program, which also serves children in Mamaroneck.

On Spirit Day, April 12, local Girl Scouts donated books and handmade book marks and heard from children's book illustrator Wedny Popp.

Event organizer for the local scouts, Elizabeth Derby, was very pleased with the huge number of books that were contributed. “The girls were so generous in their book donations and these will really be appreciated by both the CAP Center and the KEEPS program,” she said.

On the actual Sprit Day, more than 40 girls gathered at the Larchmont Scout House for an 8:00 am breakfast and then began making book marks – one for themselves and the others to be donated along with the books.

The annual event was promoted by the Heart of the Hudson council, which serves more than 34,000 girls in Westchester, Putnam, Dutchess, Orange, Rockland, Sullivan and Ulster counties. Each community was invited to plan an event that allows Girl Scouts to reach out and make a difference in their own local area.

For the Larchmont and Mamaroneck Girl Scouts, Spirit Day included a brief flag ceremony after which the girls were treated to a presentation by local children’s book illustrator, Wendy Popp. Ms. Popp shared her illustrations and discussed how Larchmont people and places show up in many of her drawings. She talked about how she enjoyed writing and drawing as a child and encouraged the girls to keep journals and capture their thoughts in both words and pictures.

Cathy Bennett, volunteer community chair for the Larchmont-Mamaroneck Girl Scouts, noted how interested the girls were in hearing about Ms. Popp’s work and the process for illustrating a book. “This event gave these girls a peek into how children’s books are created, which can only help increase their interest in reading,” said Ms. Bennett. “Plus it offered books to two great programs to help build a love of reading throughout our community. We couldn’t have asked for more.”

Pat Allen volunteers with the Larchmont-Mamaroneck Girl Scouts

Front Page

Print This Page
Email this page