Westchase Brownie Troop 1369 is made up of 14 bright-eyed, little ladies. Each has her own unique brand of “girl power” and energy. This year the troop is learning many things, including how to cook, camp and help the environment. But none of these lessons has been as powerful as their lesson about giving back. This troop began as Daisies. Its members are now blossoming into young ladies who are working to support their community through raising funds, volunteering and giving of their time and talents.

This year the girls adopted the Ronald McDonald House (RMH), a facility that provides a home-away-from-home for families whose children are in the hospital or receiving ongoing outpatient care. They have 32 rooms and charge only $10 and a daily chore for one night’s stay. The actual cost to run this facility is closer to $60 per night. No family is ever turned away due to an inability to pay and the families are always able to find support and compassion through the many volunteers at the facility.

To help Ronald McDonald House, the girls put together 50 care packages with hotel sizes of shampoo, conditioner, soap and lotions. They also took the time to include handwritten cards and notes with blessings and well wishes for the children and their families. With the help of our local orthodontist, Dr. Sharon J. Durrett, we were able to include toothbrushes, toothpaste, mouthwash, floss and a large water bottle. Dr. Durrett also came to the meeting to talk to the troop and helped put the packages together.

Our troop also teamed up with Troop 335 for this awesome organization. Together with several mothers from the troops, they cooked and delivered dinner for 40 people at the Ronald McDonald House. The dinner included lasagna, fruit, salad, bread and delicious brownies.

The troop has also given 10 percent of their cookie money profits each year to various children’s charities, including The American Cancer Society, Light the Night Walk, Juvenile Diabetes Research Institute and The Children’s Craniofacial Association. Kailey Smart, a member of Troop 1369, also collected donations and contributed her own money to give to the RMH.

This is truly an amazing group of community changers in training. The Girl Scouts organization is instilling many important life skills, including leadership, love of self and the all important lesson that giving back is a vital call to action for all people of all ages.

Kudos to the beautiful young ladies of Troop 1369! Keep up the great work!

 

The MOMS Club of Westchase North, a group for stay-at-home moms and their preschool-aged children, has plans to play hard and to work hard to serve our community this month.

In conjunction with the Westchase Community Garage Sale, the chapter is having a huge, multi-family garage sale featuring baby and children's items along with other household goods. It will be held Saturday, May 3, beginning at 8 a.m. All proceeds will benefit A Woman's Place, a local crisis pregnancy center. Look for our signs and not-to-miss sale in The Bridges. Come early for the best deals and selection and to help us give back!

The fun continues with a Moms' Night Out for Cinco de Mayo, which will take place Chico's on Monday, May 5, at 7:30 p.m. On May 16 at 11:30 a.m. we'll have a more kid-friendly meal when the Lunch Bunch gathers at Atlanta Bread Company.

We've planned a field trip to Kid City on Wednesday, May 7, at 10 a.m. Then, on Tuesday, May 20, at 9 a.m., the group will meet at Starbucks in West Park Village for their monthly Coffee Walk over to Baybridge Park. Our End of Year Party with board elections is scheduled for May 29 at 10 a.m. It is sure to include plenty of snacks and sunshine! Please contact us for details.

Family Night this month is sponsored by our May business of the month, Chick-fil-A at the Citrus Park mall. We will meet up on Tuesday, May 13, at 5:30 p.m. to take advantage of their new weekly event where children receive a free kids' meal with any regular combo purchase. They have some special surprises planned that night just for our members too!

In addition to these activities the chapter has different playgroups for kids from newborn through school age. Each playgroup meets on the same day and time each week but at different locations.

Who says you can't meet someone nice through a personal ad? We did! That's right – a little over three years ago, former Westchase resident, Liz Hawks, was a new, stay-at-home mom. She placed a random ad in the WOW looking for other moms with children with whom to hang out. She was overwhelmed at the response of e-mails she received from interested moms.

Moms on the Go’s first official playdate was in January 2005 and we haven't looked back. Since then we've had many playdates, holiday parties, family outings, and Moms’ Nights Out! We've celebrated new babies, helped sick friends in need and said goodbye to friends who have moved away. We've also had the pleasure of raising thousands of dollars for various charities.

Our children have grown up together and the moms have formed special friendships over the years. So, thanks to the WOW and Liz for bringing us all together!