Service Unit: Juniper Ridge

Troop 7347 (Juniors)

Years as a troop leader: 21

What kind of activities do you do with your troop? What is their favorite thing to do?

My troop loves hiking and going on overnight trips where the girls earn badges and learn to do things independently and collaboratively. They enjoy horseback rides, participating in ceremonies, and traveling to Disneyland and The Great Wolf Lodge together, but their favorite activity is overnight camping, singing by the campfire and learning new skills.

What kind of service projects have you done with your troop?

The girls do a lot of projects to serve their community! They’ve made fleece blankets to donate to Child Protective Services (CPS) in Payson and donated boxes of cookies to the local fire department and the Veterans in their hometown of Payson. As part of one of their Journeys, they went to their school to learn how to replace styrofoam plates with plastic ones. It was an “aha” moment to see the girls find the root cause, develop a plan for change, and take steps to make their ideas work.

What advice would you give other troop leaders?

I would advise other troop leaders to enjoy their time with the troop and have fun. Don’t get overwhelmed with training, planning, and organization. Involve co-leaders and parents as much as possible, and don’t try to do it all yourself.

Does your troop sell cookies? If yes, please tell us in your own words, why it is important to participate in the Cookie Program?

Yes, the girls love cookie season! The values of the program develop more with the age level of the girls. They learn social skills, teamwork, coordinating the boxes that need to be refilled at the table, customer service skills and the big one: dealing with money and counting change back to the customer. They decide a goal or trip they want to go on and decide how many boxes of cookies they need to sell to achieve this.