Scouts prepared to meet in person in east Bradenton

Before the pandemic, Girl Scout Troop 97 was meeting regularly, earning badges and moving toward reaching their goals.

Then the pandemic hit, and troop activity was put on hold. 

Although the troop could have met virtually, Summer Jahn, the leader of the troop, felt the experience wasn’t the same, so she held off on hosting meetings until they could meet again in person.

The problem with meeting in person was finding a new location because schools weren’t allowing outside groups to meet on campus. Fortunately, a parent found the East Manatee Bulldogs facility. With the new facility, Jahn had to change the day of the week her troop would meet, which caused a few members to drop out due to scheduling conflicts.

After finalizing the location and dates of the meetings, Jahn had to ensure her Scouts would follow Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention guidelines and Girl Scouts of Gulfcoast Florida’s health guidelines at meetings. The guidelines include wearing a face mask, practicing social distancing and not sharing supplies.

Although Jahn, along with leaders of several other Girl Scout and Boy Scout troops in the Lakewood Ranch area, has had to make adjustments and overcome challenges to ensure they could meet in person, many troop leaders have said it’s worth it, so their troops could be together again.

Some troops tried hosting their meetings virtually for a few months when the pandemic began and found it couldn’t replace the experience of meeting in person.

Girl Scout Troop 140 leader Aleksandra Moore had difficulty keeping her Scouts interested and on task, but she found new activities for them to do, so they could have fun. Some nights, the Scouts would make their own dinner or dessert and then eat together. Other nights, they would play games to win prizes that would be sent to them.

As difficult as it might have been to host meetings virtually, Elly Barr, the leader of Girl Scout Troop 701, felt that the virtual meetings were an opportunity for her troop members to connect at a time when everyone was separated.

All the Scouts in Barr’s troop had just finished fifth grade at Braden River Elementary School and were moving onto different middle schools, so the troop was a way for the girls to stay connected with their friends.

“It’s about getting them back together and getting them feeling like a troop again,” Barr said.

The decision to move back to in-person meetings was made after discussing it with the parents of the scouts in their respective Girl Scout or Boy Scout troop.

The leaders knew what health and safety precautions had to be put in place in order to ensure their scouts would stay safe during the meetings and activities.

Jahn’s troop has 20 Scouts ranging from second grade to fifth grade. Because she has a large troop, she has to split them up and have half the group meet outside and the other half inside to follow health and safety guidelines.

Boy Scout Troop 191 meets in the parking lot of Living Lord Lutheran Church once per week. Everyone brings their own chair, and they sit socially distant while wearing masks.

“There’s a lot of things with Scouts you just can’t do over the computer,” said Brian Caporaso, the assistant scoutmaster of Troop 191. “You have to be hands-on.”

Boy Scout troops have not let the pandemic get in their way of learning how to camp, build fires and complete outdoor activities.

Gabe Cole, an assistant scoutmaster for Troop 10, said his troop has been camping once per month since they started meeting in person again in October.

When camping, Cole and his fellow leaders ensure the Scouts are staying with their assigned groups, so they could easily contact trace if someone were to test positive for COVID-19.

The camping experience might be altered due to following the guidelines, but it’s still providing valuable life skills for the Scouts while they’re having fun, Cole said.

“I have to say, our boys have adapted and overcome the situation,” Cole said. “They’ve made the best of it, and they’ve kept scouting positive and strong.”

Girl Scout troops are finding ways to volunteer in their communities and do different activities outdoors.

Moore’s troop participated in a beach cleanup on Anna Maria Island and made shoeboxes for seniors through Meals on Wheels Plus of Manatee County.

Jahn’s troop spent Jan. 16 horseback riding at Home Run Farm. The girls learned about horses before getting to ride.

Barr’s troop has done activities at Camp Honi Honta, such as kayaking and archery.

“It warms my heart that they are still so involved [in the troop] because it could be easy for them to go the other way and not want to be in Girl Scouts anymore,” Barr said. 

The Girl Scouts of Gulfcoast Florida created a new way for troops to earn their badges called Badge in a Box. The girls are provided all the materials they need to earn their badge in a box.

Jahn will be trying two Badges in a Box with her troop in the coming months. One is designing a race car, which the troop has never done before.

“It’s getting out of your traditional painting and pottery and stuff like that, which are all nice and fun to do, but I think this gets a little bit more creative juices flowing,” Jahn said.

Girl Scout troops are heading into cookie season, which will look different than the past.

Many grocery stores have told troops they aren’t comfortable having booth sales being conducted outside, so troops are having to get creative on how they can still sell cookies while being safe.

Girls will depend on online sales while learning about online businesses, how to accept digital payments and internet security.

“A lot of the girls will learn more about global business and internet businesses, which they haven’t done before,” Moore said.