Girl Scouts celebrate 100 years

[308Mike]

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Girl Scouts celebrate 100 years
Written by Jeanette Steele
5:40 p.m., March 11, 2012

Still girlish after 100 years, the Girl Scouts organization is marking its centennial with celebrations and service projects around San Diego County.

Two troops from San Marcos participated Sunday in a beach cleanup and toy presentation. Groups around the county will hold events throughout 2012, including eight sunset celebrations today.

The San Diego County administration building will be lit in green this week to honor 100 years of female scouting.

The Girl Scouts began with 18 girls in Savannah, Ga. Founder Juliette “Daisy” Gordon Low decided that young women should be encouraged to get out of the house and spend time in the open air.

From that first troop, the organization has grown to 3.2 million youths and adults. More than 50 million U.S. women have at one time worn a Brownie beanie or green Girl Scout gear.

A handful of girls boarded the Sprinter train in San Marcos Sunday afternoon, heading to the Oceanside pier to pick up trash. They chose the rails to make the trip environmentally friendly.

Hopping back aboard the train, they returned to San Marcos to present more than 100 stuffed animals to sheriff’s deputies and firefighters waiting there.

The toys will be used by law enforcement officials to comfort children during crisis situations.

The Girl Scouts opened their own closets and lobbied friends to collect the stuffed animals, which they cleaned and dried before presenting, said Linda Burke, leader of Troop 4791.

Some Girl Scouts say they only feel popular at cookie sale time, and others fall away from scouting when the high school years roll around. But Amanda Sabako, 16, said Girl Scouts has opened doors for her.

“It gives you so many opportunities,” she said. “I’ve been able to do so many things. Just like, right now, we’re talking to the sheriffs and firefighters. It’s just a lot of fun.”

The celebration of the Girl Scouts 100th anniversary is scheduled to continue today, the official date of the founding, with eight sunset celebrations in Mission Bay, Santee, Poway, Oceanside, Coronado, La Jolla Shores, Fallbrook and Imperial Beach.

Tonight’s events are full to capacity, a Girl Scouts spokeswoman said. For information on creating your own ceremony, go to

http://www.sdgirlscouts.org/sunset

jen.steele@utsandiego.com; (619) 293-1030; Twitter @jensteele