Girl Scouts gather items for VOICe
FRANKLIN TWP — Sophia Gibson wasn’t sure if she would enjoy her Girl Scout community project of collecting hygiene items for the Victim Outreach Intervention Center this year, but she started liking the work once it got going.
The 8-year-old Brownie Scout in Troop 16845 said Tuesday, June 4, that the troop asked for donations of items from the community, but the Scouts themselves bought some items using money raised from the sale of their cookies.
“We collected the sheets, there was a little fundraiser we did where they could bring sheets and stuff, then we got makeup and stuff from people donating it,” Sophia said. “It took a while.”
The troop had its yearly wrap-up meeting Tuesday at the Mt. Chestnut Presbyterian Church, where its members gave the stacks of items to Nicole Hyatt, medical advocacy and education prevention coordinator for VOICe.
Amanda Gibson, the troop’s leader and Sophia’s mom, commented that she saw the girls in the troop grow up over the course of the year, and their service project demonstrated their commitment.
“These girls have worked really hard to get all of this,” Amanda Gibson said.
The donations included bedding items, deodorant, toothpaste, makeup, and soaps, and many of them were organized into bins in a mobile shelf, which the girls decorated themselves.
Amanda Gibson said the girls wanted to do a project for people experiencing homelessness, and Sophia said she just wanted to do a project that helped people in need.
Hyatt said any kind of donations that can be given to people undergoing a loss of shelter are helpful to the agency.
“This fundraiser is honestly amazing,” Hyatt said. “When you guys provide us things like this for people to come in, pick out all of their own stuff and have things that are specifically for them, it really makes them feel better.”
