MAPLEWOOD, NJ — Girl Scout Troop 20874, comprised of fifth-graders at Jefferson Elementary School in Maplewood, is at it again! This troop is known for its community service and giving back. Last year they donated a portion of their cookie sale proceeds to the South Mountain YMCA to provide camp scholarships to local children in need; the year before they sponsored a used athletic shoe drive to help support the MORE Foundation provide shoes to those in need. This year they collected school supplies to help local children in need.
The 12 girls in the Troop — Jada, Sophia, Charlie, Maya, Ellie, Gabrielle, Audrey, Emily, Renee, Bianca, Abby and Caitlin — began the school supply drive in mid-September and collected the school supplies through mid-December. They wanted to be able to provide children with new school supplies during the holiday season, as children often deplete the supplies they had at the beginning of the school year by year-end.
With the support of the Jefferson Elementary School community and South Mountain YMCA, which allowed the Troop to set up collection boxes at each of the Y’s after-school sites, the girls collected thousands of pencils, pens, erasers, glue sticks, scissors, notebooks, folders, lunch boxes, backpacks and more. The girls were also creative and held a schoolwide contest in which the class that collected the most school supplies won an ice cream party.
The donations were provided to the East Orange YMCA after-school program and the Forest Street School in Orange. The East Orange YMCA is an affiliated Y of the South Mountain YMCA. The Forest Street School is a local elementary school that gifted the donations it received to more than 40 families who were much in need of school supplies and other necessities.
Girl Scout Troop 20874 is delighted to be able to continue to give back and help others in need.
Photos Courtesy of Terri Fowlkes
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