Members of Girl Scouts Junior Troop 67712 and Cadette Troop 72102 from the Brooks School, Andrews Middle School and McGlynn Middle School, all in Medford, Massachusetts, honored the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and learned about the Civil Rights Movement during an overnight winter lodge camping experience on Sunday, January 19 – Monday, January 20, 2020. Troop leaders Tracy Keene, Diane Cervati, Patricia Wheeler, Veronica Hunt and Paul Ruseau, also a member of the Medford School Committee, organized this troop outing at the GSEMA Camp Runels in Pelham, New Hampshire as a learning and service experience.
Troop 67712 co-leader Tracy Keene said, “We thought it was very important for our girls to learn about civil rights during this weekend honoring King’s legacy. The girls worked on two civil rights badges, Four Little Girls and Civil Rights History. They also earned a Martin Luther King, Jr. patch and patches for Winter Camping, Homeless Awareness, and Wildfire Relief.”
Boston University professor of political science and Medford resident Timothy Longman led the eighteen girls in a discussion on Sunday on civil rights. Professor Longman provided a history of slavery, Jim Crow and the civil rights movement. The girls listened to Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream Speech,” discussed prominent African American women, and learned about the September 15, 1963, bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, that killed four girls. Carole Robertson, one of the girls killed, was an active Girl Scout.
The girls, ranging in age of 10-12 years old, also studied about segregation and civil rights in the Girls Scouts USA. Using material from the Girl Scouts Museum in Waltham, MA, the girls discovered disagreements over whether the first integrated troop in the US was the Red Rose Troop founded by Miss Emma Hall in New Bedford, MA, in 1913 – the third Girl Scout troop in the country – or a later troop in 1924. The girls were surprised to learn that even in Massachusetts, many troop remained racially segregated until the 1950s.
In addition to learning about civil rights, the troops participated in projects for the MLK Day of Service. They made pine cone bird feeders to hang around the snow-covered campsite. They also sorted and assembled care packages for the unhoused community. The troops are partnering with Ari Barbanell, Medford Resident and the Executive Director of the Winter Walk, to see that the care packages are distributed to members of our community who have found themselves without shelter during these winter months. Winter Walk is an initiative to raise funds and awareness about homelessness and will be held February 9 in Copley Square.
In addition, the girls made posters of encouragement and concern for the Girls Scouts and Girl Guides in New South Wales, Australia. The girls learned that at least 28 people have died in Australia and more than 3,000 homes have been destroyed or damaged in the state of New South Wales alone and that millions of wildlife have be impacted. The posters will be shared on the Facebook pages of Australian Girl Scouts and Girl Guides and mailed to their Council.
After the trip, Anna Shanley, said about her daughter, “Sofia still can’t stop talking about it and she really learned a lot of valuable lessons.”
Medford Girl Scouts deeply appreciates the special partnership it has with the 
This patch will bring girls and troops out to an orchard to go apple picking. In addition, girls can also pick activities like baking with apples, learning about the importance of bees to orchards, bring apples to a food pantry, and/or learn about different varieties of apples and where they come from.
The sap runs when the nights are still cold but the daytime temperatures get above freezing and maple syrup seasons is usually a sign that winter is coming to an end. Girl Scouts of all ages can earn this patch by learning about how maple syrup is made (including the two types of maple trees that produce maple syrup sap), the difference between artificial and real maple syrup, and the important role maple syrup plays in the economies of New Hampshire and Vermont.
This patches program gives girls and troops a chance to learn more about the life of the founder of Girl Scouts, Juliet Gordon Low. Girls start with the center patch and then build out around the circle with a new activity and piece of the patch each month. Activities may change over time but currently include learning how to be inclusive of girls with disabilities in September, learning about World Thinking Day in February, and learning about how to be a friend to animals in March.
The Girl Scout membership year officially runs from October 1 to September 30 but Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts is offering special incentives for girls, troops and for Medford when girls and adult volunteers re-register early.
Girls who renew before April 25 will receive:
Renew 75% of your girls in your troop (and two adult volunteers) by June 13 and receive:
Last year, we re-registered more than 50% of our girls and we received $300 that we used to buy a set of Girl Scout flags which we can use for city-wide events and which troops can use for their own flag ceremonies. 
Tufts University has a new club this year called 
Troops don’t have to work on a badge to join forces with the Tufts Girls of Code. Middle-school and high-school aged troops are welcome to connect with Dr. Strange if they would simply like the Tufts Girls of Code to lead a workshop for the troop. For example, the group already led a couple of workshops that were open to all girls in Medford. The first one taught girls to build an animated Jack-o-Lantern in JavaScript and the second one helped the girls create their own Android app video game.
Journey with JFK – the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum Patch: This patch is open to all levels and it offers girls a variety of different activities, puzzles, worksheets, and games, some of which they can do at home and some which require them to go to the JFK Museum in Boston. 
Fetch! Patch: PBS’s TV show “Fetch! with Ruff Ruffman” teaches kids to explore the world and try new things. Brownies and Juniors can earn this patch by completing science and engineering activities, and then demonstrating what they have learned to younger kids (like Girl Scout Daisies, for example.) 
Plimoth Plantation Patch: Brownies and Juniors can earn this patch by visiting the Plimoth Plantation and learning about the history of the relationship between the Native Wampanoag people and the 17th-century colonists. 
the world-wide sisterhood of Girl Scouts and Girl Guides. Girl Scouts of all ages and levels have the opportunity to earn a special World Thinking Day badge by participating in World Thinking Day activities on their own, or as a troop.
To prepare for cookie season, Girl Scouts has specific badges for all ages that lead the girls through age-appropriate activities to help them prepare to sell cookies. Daisies can earn leaves, older girls earn badges, and all of these activities help the girls learn how to interact with customers, set goals, learn about money, as well as to think about how they want to use the money they earn to pay for troop activities and to support charities that make the world a better place.
Medford Girl Scouts 