By Tara Mitchell
As the parent of a recent Lincoln-Sudbury graduate, I recently reflected on how Girl Scouts has helped shape my daughter’s evolution into adulthood. When I started her troop 13 years ago with a few other parents of little kindergarteners, I did not know that the lessons we mapped out would culminate in what is ultimately a very well-rounded, conscientious, service-oriented 18-year-old. I thank Girl Scouts for being a steady constant in my daughter’s life. It showed her how to be present and explore new avenues, and how to make a difference in her community (of course, her father, teachers, coaches, etc., deserve some credit too!).
In the early years, I was glad that Girl Scouts brought different girls together — not just the sports kids or the drama kids or the science kids — and included girls living in Lincoln and Boston. Girl Scouts has a step-by-step guide to help leaders plan for meetings, suggestions for activities, badges the girls can earn, and hosts/sponsors events that the girls can go to either as a troop or individually to gain more skills or experiences.
The Lincoln community loves the support that the Girl Scouts provide: coffee and snacks at Town Meeting and Girl Scout cookie sales at Donelan’s and the transfer station, not to mention all the work with COA&HS to support our senior residents. Town leadership is also supportive of the Lincoln Girl Scouts. They have helped the girls brainstorm ideas for various service projects, identifying needs within the community and helping to bring the necessary people and resources together to make it happen.
Many Lincoln Girl Scouts have received their Gold Awards, the highest honor in Girl Scouts. Each girl has identified a need, come up with a solution, and worked over 80 hours implementing the solution. Many high school troops have done service trips to places like Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. These accomplishments/experiences and the commitment that it shows have been the topic of many girls’ college essays.
Several Lincoln Girl Scouts have also held positions or been recognized as leaders in the larger Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts (GSEM) community. Lucy Dwyer (2024) and Brooke Mitchell (2026) were selected by GSEM to be one of three Girl Scouts to participate in the GS Leading Women’s Award ceremony honoring girls and women whose leadership, dedication, and impact strengthen the community. Alexandria Taylor (2024/25) served as a youth member of the GSEM Board of Directors, giving her an opportunity to help steer the future of Girl Scouts through Council decision-making while serving as an ambassador for the Council.
Lincoln is a community where girls can see their impact. They come away knowing that they can have a say and can make a difference in the world. It’s a powerful message for any child and we are fortunate to have the framework to make it a reality.
Girl Scout troops can start at any age. The first level is Daisy which is kindergarten and first grade. This level introduces the foundations of Girl Scouts and girls can earn a patch each meeting as they build their knowledge of what it means to be a Girl Scout. For leaders, this is an easy way to get acquainted with the support provided by GSEM as well as the resources available from past Lincoln troop leaders. Most troops meet one time per month during the school year and can participate in town-wide activities like helping at special commemorative events around town, Town Meeting, camping, Winter Carnival pancake breakfast, and Bridging.
If you are interested in having your daughter join Girl Scouts, please reach out to Laura Taylor (lauranastos@yahoo.com) or Tara Mitchell (taramitchell365@gmail.com).
“My Turn” is a forum for readers to offer their letters to the editor or views on any subject of interest to other Lincolnians. Submissions must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com. Items will be edited for punctuation, spelling, style, etc., and will be published at the discretion of the editor. Submissions containing personal attacks, errors of fact, or other inappropriate material will not be published.
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