Lincoln Girl Scout troop leaders Tara Mitchell (left) and Laura Taylor (right) with 2021 honoree Linda Hammett-Ory.
Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts (GSEMA) recognized Lincoln’s Heather Coughlin and the Lincoln service unit at its annual Volunteer Recognition Celebration on May 6.
Coughlin was awarded the Girl Scouts of the USA Appreciation Pin, which recognizes volunteers who have given outstanding service in support of the Girl Scout leadership experience. Since 2016, she has been the Lincoln service unit coordinator, providing direction and connections between the various town troop leaders. She has encouraged sharing information and resources and offered opportunities to participate in multi-troop events.
For more than six years, Coughlin shouldered the majority of the town-wide events, including organizing an annual all-troop camping trip, bridging ceremonies, cookie sales, and has coordinated with the town on participating in Memorial Day and Labor Day celebrations, Fourth of July parades and supporting other town events like Town Meeting.
One Lincoln troop leader commented, “Her attention and dedication to providing role models to young girls is what I think is most impressive about Heather. She is always thinking of the girls — how they can be the center of the decision or process, take on a leadership role, feel celebrated and have others to look up to, examples of what they could accomplish in the future.”
The Lincoln service unit was given the President’s Award for its exemplary service. Lincoln is a small town, but the connections run deep, and those connections, paired with commitment, have allowed Lincoln Girl Scouts to persevere throughout the pandemic, GSEMA noted. Through connections in the community, Girl Scouts participate in several multi-troop service activities and events that allow girls to see other Girl Scouts from different grades, and allow older girls become role models to the younger girls.
For over four years, a partnership with the Lincoln Council on Aging and Human Services has provided girls the opportunity to see what a positive impact a small gesture can have on individuals. The Lincoln Girl Scouts have run collection drives for seniors gathering household products, personal care items, and postage stamps, as well as a handmade craft/card with winter wishes. A Girl Scout Bronze Award project from years ago has continued on with providing sand buckets in winter so seniors won’t slip on their walkways and driveways. These deliveries are always met with much gratitude, almost as much as when the girls deliver Girl Scout cookies to home-bound seniors as part of a gifting program sponsored by the COA&HS.
As a service unit, Lincoln has supported several Silver Award projects, including one that created connections through the local library to make virtual reading buddies, another to build and install colorful benches in the courtyard of Lincoln Mall, and a third that worked with a local synagogue to develop more gender-inclusive spaces and services.
The May 6 ceremony also recognized those who had received awards during prior years. Linda Hammett-Ory, a Lincoln Girl Scout troop leader for 13 years, received the Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts’ Helen Storrow Heritage Award in June 2021. This award recognizes a registered Girl Scout who recognizes, understands, and practices the values of the Girl Scout mission and has contributed to the growth and strength of GSEMA through philanthropy and efforts to preserve Girl Scout history.
Coughlin will be stepping down as service unit coordinator this summer. Anyone interested in joining a troop, become a troop leader or help coordinate among troops may email lincolngirlscouts01773@gmail.com.