SJ Orgs: Girl Scouts of SJ Pines

Behind every cookie is the umbrella organization that serves South Jersey girls with a fun and educational program to enrich their lives. The Girl Scouts of the South Jersey Pines (GSSJP), established in 1996, mixed the Atlantic, Burlington, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester and Salem Counties to improve services to the girls and volunteers. The organization serves more than 13,000 girls between the ages of 5 and 17. Girls can join the Daisies Troop, Brownies, Juniors, Cadettes and Seniors. The Girl Scouts are funded by the United Way, private grants, product sales and individual contributions.

Girls are exposed to several challenging programs including career exploration, introduction to arts, fitness, environmental concerns, and community and global outreach. The main administrative office is located in the Newfield Service Center, 2944 Victoria Avenue in Newfield. Other service centers for meetings are located in Mount Holly, Thorofare and in Egg Harbor Township.

To further the Girl Scout experience, the program offers year-round camps in Camp Kettle Run, Camp Sacajawea and Sheppard’s Mill. The camps help the girls reach their fullest potential through various activities for a weekend or for the 6-week summer camp. Besides family camping weekends and individual camping excursions, the girls have the opportunity to attend exciting trips including an Amish farms trip, a ballet workshop, golf and volleyball outings, courtroom observation, and bird watching.

When we think of Girl Scout’s the first thing that comes into the mind are those delicious cookies. For the 2003 cookie contest, the GSSJP held their first annual red-carpet Cookie Commercial Award Ceremony. Each troop created a two to three minute cookie commercial to teach them the audiovisual process. The girls were treated to a walk down the red carpet and volunteers posed as the media to take pictures and hold interviews. Troop #6641 took home the Grand Prize for their commercial titled ‘A Promising Future.’

The Girl Scouts cookie sale helps to raise money each year to fund these amazing projects for the girls. In 2003, seven girls were named high achievers by selling more than 1,000 boxes a piece. Congratulations to Sarah Hudock, Angela Mullins, Charlene Caulford, Amanda Rogers, Christina Lauria, Kaitlyn Kee-Dayton and Dorothy McCoy for proving they are the cookie champs!

Other cookie related projects include the cookie case contest, where each troop is to make a girl scout related item with the cookie boxes and the Delectable Desserts competition where area restaurant chefs created original desserts using Girl Scout Cookies and competed in Philadelphia on the first day of the sale. Participating restaurants were Braddock’s Tavern with their Caramel Delight and the Creole Cafe with the Caramel Delight Turtle Tart. The Girl Scouts also offer cookie costumes for community event rentals and sell cookie-related merchandise year-round.

The Girl Scouts count on the donations from the cookie sale as well as the help of generous adult volunteers to make their dreams possible. GSSJP is always looking for adult volunteers to make a difference in the girl’s lives. Adult volunteers must be over 18 years old but are a diverse group of parents, retirees, males and females and college students. Although parents are encouraged to participate with their child, if you are a former girl scout and are a parent of a boy or not a parent, the GSSJP invites you to share your experiences. The amount of time donated varies upon the person. You can volunteer at an event or two hours each week. Volunteers are only required to pay the $7 annual dues and complete training for their specific position.

The GSSJP are much more than a cookie program. Other events for this year include:

The Build-A-Bear Workshop in the Deptford Mall will offer a free collectible patch to every Girl Scout that makes a bear. Individual troops can schedule a Build-A-Party and will leave with their personally created bear as well as a Club Condo carrying case. For more information and pricing, contact (877) 789-2327.

The Girl Scouts promotes friendships across the country with their Pen Pal Program. The girls choose a Pen Pal and write about troop activities and their community. If your child is interested in signing up, please send your troop number, number of girls, program level, adult’s name, address and e-mail address to nwalters@gssjp.org.

GSSJP are encouraged to apply for the United States Heritage Award. Designed by the Scouts, the completion of the award will help girls increase their knowledge of the United States and display patriotism through various community service programs. For more information and requirements visit www.NationsTrails.com.

If you would like to get your child involved in the GSSJP organization, would like to volunteer or make a contribution, please contact (856) 697-3900 or visit their website at www.gssjp.org.

For more on local Organizations, visit our South Jersey Organizations page.

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Author: Melissa Samuelson