Girl Scouts demonstrate concern for special family
BY REBECCA MORTONB Staff Writer

MARLBORO - As the holidays drew near last month a Neptune family received presents built not by elves who were working for Santa Claus, but by the members of Girl Scout Troop 91.

Working with representatives of Coastal Habitat for Humanity, the girls learned about affordable housing as part of their Girl Scout Bronze Award, the highest honor a Junior Girl Scout can earn.

The Bronze Award requires a scout to learn the leadership and planning skills that are necessary to follow through on a project that makes a positive impact on her community. Working toward this award demonstrates a girl's commitment to help others, to improve her community and world, and to become the best she can be, according to Linda Sakowitz, one of the troop's assistant leaders.

Cori Allen, Grace Huang, Sarah Lin, Alana Marquardt, Michaela McGuiness, Jenna Pelonero, Samantha Rapaport, Danielle Sakowitz and Isabella Sanez, all of whom are 11-year-old sixth-graders at the Marlboro Middle School, Route 520, make up Troop 91, which is part of the Girl Scouts of the Jersey Shore council.

For their project the scouts built two bookcases and collected books to give to two young girls who recently moved into their new Habitat for Humanity home in Neptune.

Habitat for Humanity builds homes for the working poor. A family that buys a Habitat for Humanity home also helps to build it.

On Dec. 21 the Marlboro Girl Scouts delivered the bookcases and boxes filled with books to the family in Neptune.

In order to receive the Bronze Award the troop members had to complete four requirements including earning two badges related to the award, complete one of the Girl Scout Signs found in the Junior Girl Scout Handbook, earn their Junior Aide Award and the Junior Girl Scout Leadership Award and complete a project that shows a commitment to the girl's community by spending at least seven to eight hours and providing community service inside or outside Girl Scouting.

In an interview with the News Transcript the girls recalled the ideas they had brainstormed for possible projects, including holding a food drive or making baby blankets. In researching Coastal Habitat for Humanity the troop members' interest was sparked.

Cori explained that before beginning the project she did not know what Habitat for Humanity was, but now she sees what a good organization it is.

The nine girls took a vote and decided to help a Habitat for Humanity homeowner who has children about their age.

Maureen Mulligan, executive director of Coastal Habitat for Humanity, said the troop members worked with volunteer coordinator Pamela Van Nostrand to learn how they could help the organization.

Coastal Habitat for Humanity is 13 years old and builds and rehabilitates homes in the Neptune and Asbury Park area (no new Freehold area Habitat for Humanity homes had young children).

The idea to provide bookcases and books for Habitat's most recent homeowners arose from the troop members' conversations with Van Nostrand.

To raise money for the bookcases Troop 91 held a bake sale outside a Lowe's home improvement store. After collecting the money the Girl Scouts bought bookcases and assembled them.

Leaders Linda Sakowitz, Susan Marquardt and Claire McGuiness said there were no injuries sustained while the girls were assembling the bookcases, just some paint stuck in hair.

With one bookcase stained brown and another painted white and covered in nine handprints - one for each troop member - the girls wanted to fill the bookcases.

Making use of a summer program run by Barnes & Noble, where after reading 10 books a child would receive a free book, the troop members donated their books to their project. They also went to their own book collections and McGuiness helped out by holding a book drive in her classroom.

Michaela recalled how it was hard for her to choose which of her books to part with.

Alana said there was one title she kept struggling to part with, but in the end it found itself among the 250 books that went to the Habitat for Humanity home. A book on Girl Scouts even made the contribution.

They knew from information provided by Habitat that both of the youngsters for whom they were building the bookcases are avid readers.

Cori said once they knew that the younger girl likes animals they had some direction about what types of books to choose. Since one of the girls is younger than the troop members, Cori said the Marlboro girls thought about books they had read and enjoyed in the past.

As an extra treat Isabella and Samantha created dog bookmarks and cat bookmarks for the two children.

Their troop leaders, former Girl Scouts themselves, were very proud of the troop members for going outside of their comfort zone to help other people. They recalled how the girls were outside working on the bookcases on cold nights with no complaints, just a few requests for hot chocolate.

Earning the Bronze Award has been three years in the making, Sakowitz said, as the girls had prerequisites that had to be completed before they could start on the final step.

Mulligan, the Coastal Habitat for Humanity executive director, recalled how the Marlboro girls carried in what seemed to be an endless number of books on Dec. 21. She said the Neptune homeowner and her children were thrilled to receive such a wonderful gift for their first Christmas in their new home.

Any girl between the ages of 5 and 17 can become a Girl Scout. There are different levels based upon a girl's age and grade, according to the Girl Scouts Internet Web site. There are Daisy Girl Scouts, ages 5-6, Brownie Girl Scouts, ages 6-8, Junior Girl Scouts, ages 8-11, Teen Girl Scouts, ages 11-17, and Adult Girl Scout volunteers, age 18 and over.

The members of Troop 91 will soon begin to work on their "bridging" to become Cadets, part of the teen level.