Kutztown Brownie Troop 1369 holds jelly drive for Friend food pantry

Kutztown Brownie Troop 1369 held a jelly drive at Kutztown Elementary School in May.

The girls collected more than 80 jars of jelly to donate to the Friend, Inc. food pantry.

Troop members MyaKay Bartman, Sydney Burch, Lauren Clymer, Abby Osborne, Maggie Schaeffer, Emma Vanek, and Olivia Williamson decided to collect the jelly after they learned that the pantry had many jars of peanut butter, but no jelly for its patrons.

The jelly drive helped the girls complete a Girl Scout “journey” called “It’s Your World – Change It!” The girls learned about different needs in the community, took action to address a need, and then told their story. As part of the process, they met with Elementary School Principal Tracy Blunt to explain their idea and ask for permission to hold the jelly drive.

The successful jelly drive completed an active Brownie year for Troop 1369. The girls earned more than 12 badges and went on field trips to the Saucony Creek Trail, the Kutztown Historical Society, Hope Cemetery, the DaVinci Science Center, the Kutztown University Planetarium, Berks County Community Foundation, a corn maze and a magic show.

“Our goal was to help the girls develop courage, confidence and character,” said Mikal Wilcoxson, who co-led the troop with Heidi Williamson. “Girl Scouts is all about helping girls develop leadership skills and have fun, too.”

More information about Girl Scouts, including registration information, is available online at www.gsep.org.