A Troop of Whiz Kids

The Girl Scout Law charges scouts to "use resources wisely" and "make the world a better place."  St. Raphael School Brownie Troop 65007 did both on May 22 at Playstead Park.  These Whiz Kids also had a pretty good time in the process!

Troop leaders Theresa Colbert and Monique O'Connell explain that while they gave the girls a few suggestions for a community service project, these third graders made this decision themselves.  The girls decided they wanted to do a clean-up and chose Playstead, where they frequently play after school. Grace Church and the City of Medford facilitated it through the GreenUp CleanUp program.

Molly Farren's favorite part of the clean-up was "helping the girls clean up the park, and playing in the park a little bit, and the tire swing.  I had a lot of fun with friends and the other girls."  Marianne O'Connell "really liked raking." Ava Yurasits and Jessica Lividoti enjoyed walking around the baseball fields with their friends and picking up trash--a statement echoed by a few other Brownies. Maggie Sheehan liked that "people actually participated--people who weren't even in Brownies!"  Josh Glionna, head coach of the JV baseball team, was there with some of his team.  Teammates Kevin Andrew and David Center helped by cleaning off graffiti.

Katie Lynch, older sister to Ellie Lynch felt it was a "great opportunity for the girls to really help out...but the best is what's yet to come:  ice cream!" This whirlwind of Brownies, parents, and baseball players whipped Playstead into shape an hour into the two-hour park clean-up.  The girls were able to leave the park earlier than planned for their celebration at C.B. Scoops.

You'll have a hard time working harder and faster than this Brownie Troop, but try anyway.  The next GreenUp CleanUp is at Barry Park on June 4, from 10-12.