New Yorkers have a reputation for being tough as nails, but underneath all of the big-city bluster beats a true heart of gold.
According to state data, there were more than 100,000 homeless children in New York City’s public schools from 2016 – 2017. That’s one in 10. With this data in mind, Girl Scouts‘ community engagement specialist Giselle Burgess approached the city government with a groundbreaking idea. Giselle wanted to start a new troop of Scouts specifically for New York City’s homeless girls.
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Giselle got the idea to start a troop after she and her five children became homeless in 2016. After enrolling in the New York City homeless shelter system, she and her kids felt understandably frightened.
“When we got there, there was no sense of community; it was very overwhelming and scary,”she said. “As a parent, you have to make sure that your children feel safe at all times. I asked, ‘Would it be okay if I started a troop at the shelter?’ Everybody was like, ‘Yes, absolutely do it.’ We’ve had such an overwhelming response from the community about this program,”Giselle said.
Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer supported the movement stating, “It’s just about the most right thing I’ve ever been a part of.”
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Troop 6000 was founded as a result, and the program has provided a lifeline to young girls like 10-year-old Sanaa, one of Troop 6000’s original members.
“I thought I was different from everybody else because they had an actual home or apartment, and I was living in a shelter, so I would separate myself,” Sanaa said. “It was kind of tough because the room was cramped, and I didn’t have any space, but I got used to it. Girl Scouts brought everybody together. We all started talking together, walking to school together and playing in the hallway.”
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When people think of Girl Scouts, often the first thing that comes to mind is the cookies they sell every year to raise money for the organization and the various charities they support. But selling cookies isn’t a viable option for kids who live in homeless shelters.
To mitigate the dangers of selling cookies in the city, Kellogg’s Little Brownie Bakers division arranged to let Troop 6000 use its store in NYC to sell the treats. Girl Scouts of Greater New York CEO Meredith Maskara said that securing this safe space was the key to success for Troop 6000.
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“When living a transient lifestyle, it’s not a convenient place to be thinking about cookie logistics,” Meredith said. “We thought, how can we be more innovative and provide a space so that cookie logistics [don’t] have to be one of their priorities.”
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Recently, Troop 6000 finally got a chance to sell their cookies, and the people of New York City were there for them. The girls started off with a modest goal of selling 6,000 boxes; instead, they sold that amount in one day!
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People were lining up for 20-30 minutes just to buy boxes from this very special troop. By the end of their fifth day, the girls had sold an astounding 30,000 boxes of cookies to the generous people of New York.
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“It’s important to show other girls that it doesn’t matter where they’re from, or the problem they’re in, they could still be a Girl Scout,”Sanaa said.
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This sense of inclusion is especially important for homeless children, who often feel displaced and unwanted in society.
This cookie sale definitely had the sweetest reward of all. Please share this story to make someone smile today.
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