Instead of sleeping in and playing with friends for their spring break, Girl Scouts of Troop #3679 spent their week off beautifying the Saratoga County EOC Head Start Center.
The girls, their families and volunteers turned plain white walls into
a 60-foot indoor painting of ocean life inside the pre-school classroom
in just under a week. The mural will help the pre-schoolers learn about
sea life in a calm atmosphere.
"We wanted something soothing for them, yet exciting," said Girl Scout leader Karen Desjardins.
The mural captures everything from dolphins to coral and even a rendition of Dylan the sea turtle which the Saratoga Springs Housing Authority adopted from a program in Florida, similar to elephant adoptions in Africa.
The under the sea theme was suggested by Professional Muralist Susan Shanley who recently returned from a trip to El Salvador with thoughts of the ocean on her mind. Through the Saratoga County Arts Council, Shanley and the Saratoga EOC received a grant of $1,973 to sponsor the community art project.
"Seeing the Girl Scouts and the kids here together helps to give them all a sense of community here at the terrace," said Kathy Wallace, lead teacher and center director for the Jefferson/ Vanderbilt Terrace Head Start Center. "They get to enjoy new relationships with other age groups and, the Girl Scouts gain a sense of responsibility to be good role models for the younger ones."
Both the Head Start students and members of Troop #3679 live in the Jefferson/Vanderbilt Terrace low-income housing project. The Girl Scout troop is like no other in the fact that it encompasses girls of all ages. Most Girl Scout troops consist of girls of the same cohort who move up the ranks together as they grow. Troop #3679 has 18 Girl Scouts from all grades, from kindergarten to sophomores in high school.
The Troop was started seven years ago by community volunteers and members of the Saratoga-area Girl Scout council who were afraid that girls were not joining Girl Scouts because of monetary limitations.
"We thought maybe they weren't joining because their mothers didn't have cars to get them to
and from meetings," Desjardins said.
Troop leaders are volunteers, not mothers of the scouts like in traditional troops and the girls do not pay dues. Instead, they are supported by the Girl Scouts of Northeastern New York, Inc. and other community groups including the Soroptimists.
Instead of meeting at the local school like other troops, Troop #3679 holds their meetings at the William Ford Community Center located within the housing project making meetings easily accessible for the girls to attend.
Like other troops, however, the girls earn badges through community projects such as this mural and group outings.
Sisters Mollie Thomas, 6 and Shannon Thomas, 7, greatly enjoy being a part of Troop #3679. They get to participate in exciting events while spending time with their friends, they said. Their mother, Aimee, is even more impressed with the program.
"This gives them a good sense of being an important part of a community," Thomas said. "It's
always good for young girls to have a 'girl network' and it's nice for them to learn from their older role models who are in the same troop. It teaches them to work with people from all ages and has helped my daughters learn to resolve conflicts with each other."
"We wanted something soothing for them, yet exciting," said Girl Scout leader Karen Desjardins.
The mural captures everything from dolphins to coral and even a rendition of Dylan the sea turtle which the Saratoga Springs Housing Authority adopted from a program in Florida, similar to elephant adoptions in Africa.
The under the sea theme was suggested by Professional Muralist Susan Shanley who recently returned from a trip to El Salvador with thoughts of the ocean on her mind. Through the Saratoga County Arts Council, Shanley and the Saratoga EOC received a grant of $1,973 to sponsor the community art project.
"Seeing the Girl Scouts and the kids here together helps to give them all a sense of community here at the terrace," said Kathy Wallace, lead teacher and center director for the Jefferson/ Vanderbilt Terrace Head Start Center. "They get to enjoy new relationships with other age groups and, the Girl Scouts gain a sense of responsibility to be good role models for the younger ones."
Both the Head Start students and members of Troop #3679 live in the Jefferson/Vanderbilt Terrace low-income housing project. The Girl Scout troop is like no other in the fact that it encompasses girls of all ages. Most Girl Scout troops consist of girls of the same cohort who move up the ranks together as they grow. Troop #3679 has 18 Girl Scouts from all grades, from kindergarten to sophomores in high school.
The Troop was started seven years ago by community volunteers and members of the Saratoga-area Girl Scout council who were afraid that girls were not joining Girl Scouts because of monetary limitations.
"We thought maybe they weren't joining because their mothers didn't have cars to get them to
and from meetings," Desjardins said.
Troop leaders are volunteers, not mothers of the scouts like in traditional troops and the girls do not pay dues. Instead, they are supported by the Girl Scouts of Northeastern New York, Inc. and other community groups including the Soroptimists.
Instead of meeting at the local school like other troops, Troop #3679 holds their meetings at the William Ford Community Center located within the housing project making meetings easily accessible for the girls to attend.
Like other troops, however, the girls earn badges through community projects such as this mural and group outings.
Sisters Mollie Thomas, 6 and Shannon Thomas, 7, greatly enjoy being a part of Troop #3679. They get to participate in exciting events while spending time with their friends, they said. Their mother, Aimee, is even more impressed with the program.
"This gives them a good sense of being an important part of a community," Thomas said. "It's
always good for young girls to have a 'girl network' and it's nice for them to learn from their older role models who are in the same troop. It teaches them to work with people from all ages and has helped my daughters learn to resolve conflicts with each other."
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