Girl Scouts of Central Texas

Annual Mobile Loaves & Fishes Day

Brownie and Junior Troops from the Westlake Service Unit started their school year off right by lending a helping hand to Mobile Loaves & Fishes, a local social outreach ministry for the homeless. The girls made more than 120 sandwiches and packed these along with fruit, chips and hard boiled eggs onto the trucks for delivery. The girls completed all their tasks and cleaned up after themselves, leaving the area in great condition for the next day. Westlake Service Unit helps with preparing the trucks for delivery each and every month! Great job, girls!

McKinney Festival

Troop 1563 took a field trip to the McKinney Roughs Earth Day Festival in Bastrop to discover all nature has to offer. The girls, along with their families, learned about local wildlife and building solar ovens. They hiked through the great outdoors and even rain couldn’t dampen their spirits. Guides even allowed the girls to touch live gopher snakes and baby alligators. This group of girls definitely proved to be little “troopers.”

Southwest Journey

Troops from the Greater Waco Service Unit took a trip through the Southwest this past June and planned the entire trip themselves! The girls, with the help of their leaders, identified the purpose and mission of their trip to ensure they learned new things, had fun and came away from it as better people. After many meetings, the troops finally set out on their trip to explore areas such as Carlsbad Caverns, Grand Canyon and much more! Through their hard work of planning and carrying through with their plans came great rewards - the girls earned a total 145 badges and patches! Excellent job girls! For more information on their trip, view their blog here.

Corpus Christ Trip

Twenty-nine Girl Scouts traveled to Corpus Christi this summer to experience aquatic life in the gulf. The girls were able to stay the night on the beach, which was a first for many of them. The trip also included a tour of the Texas State Aquarium and Kharma, a marine biology boat hosted by Texas A&M University. While on the boat, the girls discovered the importance of being environmentally friendly when a tire was pulled out of water. They were also able to view sea slugs, shrimp, gulf fish and crabs from the boat. The trip ended up being both an educational and fun experience for the girls.

Harvest Project

Clara N. from Troop 794 shared her story on her troop earning the Harvest Award, the take-action project for the ‘Sew What Senior Journey.’ The process involved working with different organizations and in the end, the girls were able to plant a garden filled with melons, beans, peppers and more. The troop made sure to stay informed on important information on food during the process, such as where it comes from and what environmental impact it has on the earth. The garden will benefit a family from the St. John Neumann Church.

Mexico City Trip

Troops 2141, 1758 and 1760 enjoyed this past spring break in Mexico City taking in a variety of beautiful sites and learning about different cultures. Visiting a city outside of your hometown allows each girl to gain new perspective and walk away with a bundle of memories.

Extraordinatory Chef

All nine Girl Scouts from Troop 1264 added to their cooking repertoire by learning a few fancy recipes at the Young Chefs Academy. They took part in implementing such recipes as making flavored butter to turning a simple muffin into a sensational one. In the end, they earned the Let's Get Cooking! Badge.

Starting to Save Young

Troop 6165 recently took a field trip to Texell Credit Union in Temple. The girls met many employees, including the manager, toured the facility and saw the safe deposit box vault. Girls were also able to run cash through the money counter and test counterfeit pens on both real and fake money. Thanks to great forethought from their leader, each girl's parents had also completed the paperwork to open a savings account for their daughter prior to the field trip. At the end of the trip, each girl was given an educational coloring book and book bag to commemorate her new savings account at the credit union.

The credit union has expressed an interest in working with more Girl Scout troops. Contact them directly if your troop is interested.

Surfing USA

During the 2009 Girl Scout Cookie sale, Troop 750 set the goal of earning enough profit to spend a weekend learning how to surf in South Padre Island. Proudly reaching their goal, the troop traveled in February 2010 for their seaside adventure. With the help of the Padre Surf Company, the girls achieved their aspiration of learning how to surf. While in South Padre, the girl also learn about the local eco-system and met rescued sea turtles up close and personal.

Honoring MLK Jr.

To help connect with the history of Martin Luther King Jr Day, Girl Scouts from PAW Service Unit participated in Austin's MLK Jr Day parade. The girls marched from the Capitol to Huston-Tillotson University in East Austin. The girls sang the entire way and had the opportunity to connect with members of the community along the way.

Father-Daughter Derby

After years of discussion, the Colorado County Service Unit decided to hold a Father-Daughter Derby. Girl Scout Cadette Troop 2606 spearheaded the planning and in December, it finally came to be. On the day of the derby, 32 girls participated and trophies were handed out for first and second place winners. The event also brought in funds through registration and concessions. The $200 profit will be donated to FOGS.

Connect a Million Minds

Girl Scouts in Waco had the opportunity to learn about science, technology, engineering and math in their own backyards as part of Time Warner Cable’s “Connect a Million Minds” initiative. The girls toured major Waco sites, including the suspension bridge, new green chamber building and city television station, to learn about science, technology and engineering using a hands-on approach. The initiative, Connect a Million Minds, is intended to inspire youth to pursue STEM by connecting them to out-of-school learning opportunities in their community. As part of their commitment to STEM, Time Warner Cable has donated $5,000 to Girl Scout STEM programs.

Ringing in the Season

Girl Scouts from the Killeen area participated in the Killeen Christmas Parade. The parade's theme was "Let Freedom Ring" and the girls were the "Ringing in the Season with Service" marching unit. They created a sign with photos from various service projects including Gifts for Grannies and the Second Chance Animal Shelter. The girls had a great time showing their community how they made the world a better place in 2009.

Race for the Cure

On November 1, 45 Girl Scouts from the Lake Hills Service Unit attended the Race for the Cure as Cheer Teams. The girls and adults all dressed in lime green t-shirts and carried pom-pons and banners as they cheered the participants on. Race for the Cure is a fund-raiser to support breast cancer research.

Taste of Asia Tea Party

Girl Scout Vivian led approximately 35 girls in an Asian Tea Party at the Asian American Culture Center in North Austin. A show-and-tell with props from Vivian's Chinese Dance class introduced the girls to Chinese culture and arts. Then the girls decorated Chinese fans, learned to make egg rolls and say hello and goodbye in Chinese. Vivian also shared stories about her Girl Scout travel opportunity to Costa Rica.

Overnight in Oklahoma

Girl Scout Troop 1876 recently went on an overnight adventure to the Oklahoma Aquarium. At the Aquarium, the girls had the good fortune to be selected to sleep in the shark tunnel. After their under the sea slumber party the troop went on a safari. On the safari they were able to feed many animals including kangaroos and zebras. The girls also saw lions and tigers and learned that those two felines play with bowling balls there at the zoo but are so strong, they often break them. As a group of animal lovers, Troop 1876 was very excited to be up close and personal with such a variety of critters.

Houston, We Have Girl Scouts

Girl Scout Brownie Troop 1926 recently traveled to Houston for the Space Center Houston Camp-in. The girls worked on requirements towards their Space Explorer and Movers Try-Its while learning what it's like to be an astronaut. After an evening filled with fun activities, the girls slept under the stars in the Space Center and ended their adventure with a tram tour of NASA the next day.

Zoo Daisies

Girl Scout Daisy Troop 605 took their first troop trip to the San Antonio Zoo. The girls used the money raised through the Cookie Program to fund their adventure. While at the zoo, they discovered African animals and were especially amazed by the hippo and crocodiles. Everyone had a great time on their first trip which their leader described as "inspiring, fun and educational."

Archaeological Find at Zilker

Girl Scout Brownie Troop 555 participated in an archaeological excavation at Zilker Park in May. While on their dig the girls found a point, or arrow head. The archaeological team at Zilker Park examined the point and reported back that it is 4000-6000 years old! It dates to either the Early or Middle Archaic Period. What an interesting find!

Achieve with Girl Scouts

Troop 2407 in Austin celebrated their accomplishments on Saturday, January 31 with an awards ceremony. Troop Leaders LaTasha and Deanna sponsor the troop that meets bi-weekly and includes Girl Scout Daisies, Brownies, and Juniors. The girls received their vests, Daisy Petals Brownie Try-Its and Junior Badges. They also received awards and incentives for participating in the council's Fall Product Program. Troop 2407 is excited about their first year of selling cookies and the fun activities they can do with their earnings.