Loudon Girl Scouts experience real-life lessons in civics

LOUDON ― Girl Scouts in Loudon are getting real-life lessons in civics, even persuading their hometown to adopt a town motto. They have been recognized with state senate resolutions and had a hand in kicking off Town Meeting.

“We are inspired by their hard work,” said Sheena Corbett, primary leader of Troop 60180 of Loudon and co-leader of Troop 63928 in Boscawen.

After residents approved a new town motto ― “Loudon, a welcoming community with a big smile” ― at their Town Meeting on March 14, Corbett said, “Some of their leaders may have even cried tears of pride after the vote.” Four of the troop’s members presented their reasons for the motto and it was unanimously passed.

It’s not the Girl Scouts’ only civic engagement. They opened the polls for voting at the Town Meeting, served breakfast and lunch to voters, and hosted a Girl Scout Cookie booth at the meeting. Also, Girl Scout Cadette Hayley Owen was recognized with a state senate resolution for earning the Girl Scout Bronze Award, accepting recognition by state Sen. Howard Pearl.

Earlier this month, Gold Award Girl Scout Madison Duffy of Concord Troop 10162 was honored at the Statehouse in Concord for her achievement, which Corbett helped arrange. Duffy achieved Gold Award status, the highest honor in Girl Scouting, with a project to teach teens about the dangers of melanoma.

Corbett said she’s seen how important it is for people to know about how our government runs.

“Too many of us have no idea and the earlier we can instill in them that they have a say in what happens, the better. Being able to see the process in our meetings, our town, our state and our country is so beneficial for the girls,” she said. 

To reinforce this, her troop follows a few routines:

• Girl Scouts vote at their meetings. Everyone gets a say and then they vote.
• The troop has a relationship with its town office. They know the people, have toured the building and learned what each job does.
• The troop is present at almost every town vote, opening the polls. Some of these Girl Scouts were able to vote in the town’s first-ever children’s vote.
• They have visited the New Hampshire Statehouse and talked about how laws are made.
• They have had state representatives visit at meetings and talk about how each voice is important.
• They have had Girl Scouts go in front of their selectmen and town when they had something to say.

Amanda Berube, a co-leader of Troop 60180 with Corbett, agrees that their Girl Scouts are very interested in civics and the democratic process.

“We are lucky to live in a small town where local leadership is always happy to support the girls,” Berube said. “Having a chance to create and adopt the first ever motto in Loudon was an accomplishment that was beyond what we could have hoped for. These girls are living and breathing the democratic process, and we are so excited to bring them to the National Girl Scout Conference in D.C. to let them see how civics and democracy function nationally on a much larger scale.”

Girl Scouts encourages all its members to take action to make life better in their communities through Take Action projects, badges like Democracy and Public Policy.

Girl Scouts of the Green and White Mountains, the council serving New Hampshire and Vermont, offers special council patch programs, designed by Girl Scouts, like They Are Your Rights, Use Them, which teaches about women’s rights, and Advocacy, which helps Girl Scouts learn to advocate for their beliefs.

To learn more about the opportunities offered by Girl Scouts, see girlscoutsgwm.org.