Return to Newsletter | Revised 2-20-02
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Bureau for Students with
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A project funded by the Georgia State Improvement Grant
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On-Line - Fall 2000
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The Girl Scouts by Mail program was the brainchild of Teresa Laird, who is a Membership Specialist at Girl Scouts of Northeast Georgia. The girls involved are those who are medically fragile or ill and cannot attend regular troop meetings. The communications and activities that the troop is involved in are sent through the mail. As the members of the troop complete the activities, they send them back to the leader so that they can receive badges and credit for what they have done. The leader keeps a scrapbook with the details of each member's activities. The leader then responds with suggestions, comments, encouragement, and new activities.
Initially, troop members were found by contacting special education directors in the counties of the northeast Georgia area. The directors and their teachers were able to suggest names of girls who might be interested in the program.
I became leader of the troop in September 1999. I have tried to determine the interests and abilities of each girl and tailor the activities around their interests. One of the first projects for the troop scrapbook was a 'Me Page' on which the girls were asked questions about themselves. One such question was 'Who is my role model, and why?' The best answer I received was 'My mom, because she helps me with some things and she takes me to all sorts of places with her.'
Future goals include getting the girls of this troop together for an event. Other plans include setting up pen pals so the girls can get to know each other and work together on some badges. For more information on the Girl Scouts- Postal Express program, please contact me through the Northeast Georgia Girl Scouts Association at (770) 536-8656. Or contact Margaret Paschal at (404) 527-7672 or 1-800-771-4046.
- by Donna Westmoreland, Troup Leader, Girl Scouts - Postal Express
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