Three local Girl Scouts in Troop 3103 are seeking donations for a project they’ve been doing for their Girl Scout Silver Award, the highest award Cadettes (sixth through eighth grade) of Girl Scouts of West Central Florida (GSWCF) can earn. They plan to hold an annual ‘reverse garage sale’ where they will collect new and like-new board games, which starts this year on Saturday, June 25.
“Our girls, Lilliana Anthony, Bailey Depew and Isabella Cantin, have been working all year towards the collection of board games for our local camp, Camp Dorothy Thomas,” said Carrie Anthony, service unit manager of Caloosa (Brandon, Riverview and Valrico areas) and the girls’ troop leader. “Not only is CDT home to our Girl Scouts, but also it is a great Summer Camp for girls of all ages and our Girl Scouts’ meeting place we have grown to love with all our hearts.”
During their time at CDT, the three girls noticed that there’s a lack of indoor activities, which is inconvenient for when the weather is bad, girls aren’t able to participate in activities scheduled at the camp or if they just need a break. To alleviate this, they decided to form their Bored Game Girls project group and work with ranger Steve Huegel and the GSWCF council to create a proposal for games to be collected and maintained by the Cadettes.
In addition to this event, they’re trying to get new card or board games, large storage tubs for games, small ones for extra pieces, gift cards and monetary donations from local small businesses. Older games will be stored separately to better maintain their pieces.
“These girls have done research linking board games to better mental health, a sense of belonging, better relationships and even promoting better focus in all ages. They have created artwork for their cause, reached out to local businesses and worked with ranger Steve to fill the needs of their Girl Scout home,” said Carrie.
Also, the girls have created an Amazon Wish List, which can be found at www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/266IZ916JITL3.
Camp Dorothy Thomas is located at 16119 Boyette Rd. in Riverview. The reverse garage sale will be held from 8 a.m.-12 Noon at Bloomingdale West Park, located at 3940 Canoga Park Dr. in Brandon. For its Facebook event page, visit www.facebook.com/events/459391202618068.
