SU 517 Girl Scouts' Winter Service, Fun

Girl Scouts of Service Unit 51-7 in the Herndon area have been busy this winter, from organizing a 100 Blanket Drive for Embry Rucker Shelter to enjoying a morning of snowtubing at Ski Liberty in Carroll Valley, Pennsylvania.

In honor of the Girl Scouts’ 100th anniversary in 2012, troops from 51-7 launched the “Spread the Warmth: Girl Scout 100 Blanket Drive” in December support of Reston Interfaith’s Embry Rucker Shelter. At a Dec. 12 winter service project meeting, Girl Scouts brought in the blankets, linens, towels and pillows they collected. A story in the Herndon Patch and Reston Patch brought more than a dozen responses from Patch readers who wanted to support the Girl Scouts in this effort by donating blankets and linens.

Thanks to the Girl Scouts and generous Patch readers, SU 51-7 reached the 100 mark on Saturday, Dec. 16. Troops continued to collect donations, with the current total at 125. A big THANK YOU also goes to Trader Joe’s in Reston, which donated the bags that were used for neighborhood door-to-door collections for additional donations.

The next month, SU 51-7 Scouts enjoyed tubing down the slopes of Boulder Ridge at Liberty Mountain. More than 100 girls and their families participated in the High Adventure activity, which took place in late January.