And the parade marched on.... (anyway, despite being canceled!)

So, we were all ready to march in the parade, making posters for our Brownies to carry and working on decorating our wagon when we learned the parade got canceled!  We quickly decided that we needed to still make this fun, so we thought we would catch the Montpelier Mile race and perhaps picnic on the State House Lawn.  As some paraders started to disseminate, other decided to march right then and there, realizing there were still spectators out there waiting for a parade to occur.  So on we marched, behind the Lyme Band float.  We were cheered on as the crowd was happy to see part of the parade still happening.  We were lucky to see one of our fellow Brownies in the crowd with her family!

We approached State & Taylor, where we were told to go on to the sidewalk so the race could begin.  Brownies cheered on the runners and were able to see many people they know, including one of our own Brownies running with her Dad!  (Look in the Times Argus, because she and her Dad also were in today's paper!)

So a planned parade turned into a canceled parade, turned into an impromptu parade that was a lot of fun.  If you were lucky enough to stay a little longer, fireworks were set off early, as they needed to be used up before the weather turned for the worse.  It ended up being a condensed form of the typical Montpelier 3rd of July day, which was very fun thanks to the flexibility and spontaneity of parade-goers and our Brownies!  :)

Look at the beautiful flag/banner the Brownies made!!

Please have a safe, fun 4th of July and summer!!!  We hope to see you around at the pool or in town, or at camps!  Enjoy!!

Camping trip fun!

We had a successful camping trip at New Discovery!  We lucked out with beautiful weather.  Once we were properly coated with sunscreen and bug dope, we hiked up to Owl's Head for a beautiful view.  We saw a bird soaring overhead, which we believed to be a turkey vulture.  We had great views of Kettle Pond and Lake Groton.  We had some lunch at the top and explored the vegetation.  Brownies found 140 Lady Slippers (although some of those may have been counted twice)!

rock tunnel

Top of Owl's Head

Brownies with my dog

sign & map of view

 

Kettle Pond with Camel's Hump way in the foggy distance

Spruce Mountain

In search of Lady Slippers!

Enjoying the view & conversation.  Don't worry, right below where they're sitting is this next photo...

 

Lady Slipper!

More Lady Slippers!

 

Girls counted 140 Lady Slippers!

Our mascot?

Back at base camp, some girls helped with setting up tents and all girls had some time to run around and explore our sites.  Brownies had the option of working on a "Junior Ranger" booklet provided by the campground and also found/created sit spots.

 Girls designed their own pieces of a Brownie flag that Jean will sew onto our main part of the flag (which we can also use in the 3rd of July parade)!

Some girls realized that the leaves they used made beautiful art pieces, themselves!

A complete piece for the flag

Some girls thought using their hands could make nice art

Another hand painting

Then the hand became the art!

Completed flag pieces

Brownies with their art

Other activities included painting rocks girls collected along our hike and gathering sticks for the "God's eye" craft.

God's Eye craft displayed

Rock excavation

God's Eyes were then displayed on our base camp canopy, along with the flag.  Brownies collected tinder for the fire and sticks for roasting marshmallows.

A toasted marshmallow.  Yum!

Brownies were divided into patrols (groups of 3-4 girls).  Each patrol had a job to do for each mealtime.  Dinner consisted of pasta, bread and veggies.  All patrols had a chance to cook, serve and clean-up throughout our stay.  It was wonderful seeing the girls work together!  What a great job they all did contributing to the group!

Expert pancake flippers

The Red People washing dishes

Several songs were sung, s'mores were made and eaten, and come morning, we all enjoyed a delicious breakfast of pancakes, sausage, hot chocolate and oatmeal.  (Not bad for camp food!)  Brownie patrols all named their groups (we had "The Red People", "The Lions" and "The Blue Discoverers").  Each patrol had to present a song, or skit, or something they created, to the troop.  The Lions had a great skit about lions arguing about who was going to eat most of the meal and they all agreed on each getting a third.  The Blue Discoverers made up a Haiku about friends that they recited together in a circle with some hand claps.  The Red People created a skit called "The Milkman".

Special thanks to all of the hard work from Rebecca & Jean in getting all of the pieces of this trip together; for Andrea B.'s contribution to meal planning and to the agenda; and to Naima, Andrea P., Tia, & Robin (friend of Jean's & Rebecca's) for being on the trip to help out.  It was a successful, fun time!!

Parade details - We're #39 in the line-up!

What: Walking as a Brownie troop for 3rd of July Parade

When: Thursday, 7/3/14, meet at 4:15 pm

Where to meet us BEFORE the parade:
Please meet us at Montpelier High School's parking lot where we will carpool over to Elm/Spring (the Meadow) where the Parade Booth check-in is.  (This will save on traffic jams in the Meadow).  We have to be at the parade booth to check-in between 4:30 & 5:00, so please be timely meeting us at the high school!

If you want to make other arrangements and meet us at the Parade Booth at Elm/Spring Streets at 4:30, then please let me know ASAP so we won't be waiting for you at the high school.  Please note our whole group must be present and sign-in together and will be expected to walk the entirety of the parade.

Where to meet us AFTER the parade:

We will gather together as a troop immediately after the parade at the beginning (close to State Street) of the main state house walkway that leads straight up to the State House's big front doors.  Please tell your Brownies to stay with the troop until we have gathered in this spot, even if parents are meeting up with us at the end of the parade.  It will make it easier to know Brownies are leaving with their parents if we are all in a main meeting place.

Each Brownie should bring:

• Her sash with all of her badges/patches and pins on it (please be sure to reinforce badges & patches with some stitching, as the iron-ons do fall off)
• Her own water bottle (labeled)
• Hat is recommended, but optional
  
• Arrive with sunscreen already on (we'll provide more before we start the parade, unless you have a specific kind you want your daughter to use, then please provide it, labeled).
• Snacks
• Permission slip to attend the parade (see attached)

We will provide:

• Health & emergency forms
• First Aid Kit
• Additional Sunscreen
• Extra water kept in a cooler
• Flag that the Brownies made on the camping trip
• Activities for the Brownies to do while we wait for the parade to start (songs, possibly make posters for the parade)
• We will have access to a bathroom if needed before the parade starts
  

Adults attending parade:

Lara

Rebecca

Heather Bouchey

Jen Matthews ?

Lexi 

The parade starts immediately after the Montpelier Mile Road Race (around 6:00).  So please remember snacks, as the parade is quite long and girls may get hungry (we won't be eating during the parade).  If raining, please have the girls wear appropriate rain gear and bring extra clothes with you so they can change with you after the parade. 

If you have any other thoughts, questions, comments, please let me know!

Thanks!
Lara

July 3rd Parade

Everyone loves a parade!

 

We will be receiving line-up information and instructions by June 28th.  The parade lines up in the Meadows neighborhood of Montpelier (check in at Spring and Elm) and line up begins at 4:00 with the Parade starting right after the Montpelier Mile Road Race shortly past 6:00.  

I have emailed the parade coordinator about access to a bathroom during this time.  We will provide activities for the Brownies to do during this time.  We will also provide water and sunscreen.  You may want to provide a snack for your daughter.

Please email me to let me know if your Brownie will or will not be attending so we have a clear idea of numbers.  Thanks!!

More info to come after June 28th!

Pennies from "Penny Power"

Just an update about pennies!  We have yet to count/roll them all.  The Brownies worked hard to roll many of them at our meetings, but there are many more to be rolled.  I'll keep you posted on how much $$ we collected through our penny drive.  (We already have $9.00 counted!) 

The troop voted on The Humane Society as their charity of choice for the pennies.  I'll get some photos of that donation once the pennies are counted!

Stay tuned!

Brownie Celebration - last meeting of the year

It was a bittersweet last meeting.  Many girls felt saddened that we were having our last meeting so soon.  Rebecca and I have thoroughly enjoyed your girls and feel lucky to have had such a wonderful group of Brownies with such supportive parents.  Special thanks to all of the volunteers throughout the year, the donations and to Jean for being a huge help at every meeting!

Please enjoy some photos from our last meeting:

Brownie Ring

Certificates!

Our Brownie troop (missing a few)

Beautiful flowers from a thoughtful Brownie

Brownie Clothing Drive

Thanks to all Brownies and families who donated clothing!  The Brownie Troop did a "blind vote" to determine which charity we would donate our collected clothing to.  The choices were Goodwill, The Salvation Army, The Bene-fit Shop, The Trinity Methodist Church thrift store and Planet Aid.  Planet Aid won by several votes!

Here is some info from the Planet Aid website: http://www.planetaid.org/

"Planet Aid is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that collects and recycles used clothes and shoes and supports international development projects.  Planet Aid supports community-based projects that improve health, increase income, aid vulnerable children, train teachers, and enhance the overall quality of life for people across the globe."

Please visit their website to see all of the great things Planet Aid does to help the world be a better place.

Here are some photos of the collection and drop off.

Weighing the clothing

trunk load #1

trunk load #2

The Yellow Box!

Brownie dropping clothing in the bin

Smiling while donating!

271 pounds of clothing were donated to Planet Aid from our Brownie troop clothing drive!  You should all be proud!

Jay Peak's "Make a Splash" event a huge hit!

What a fun trip we had!  After we realized we had somehow missed the Flow Rider tour, a kind Jay Peak maintenance man named Scott said he would still give us a tour of the entire downstairs, UNDER the park!  However, we had a 14-1 vote in favor of staying in the park and not doing the tour.  So, we had more time to splash around!  Some girls tried out the Flow Rider (surfing)!  Many of us enjoyed the various slides (with and without tubes), the Lazy River, climbing wall, pool and hot tub!  I don't know about all of your girls, but I was exhausted after the trip!!  :)

Sorry that I didn't take any photos, but water and my phone do not mix well. 

Special and important thanks to all of you for putting up with my many, many emails and paperwork, and to our drivers and volunteers: Jen Matthews, Naima Green, Jean Murray, Kristin Darcy, Dave Keller & Tom Delaney, as we couldn't have done it without all of you!!!!! 

Please note that the fun "water park" patches the girls received are to be ironed onto the back of the sash and should be reinforced with some stitching, as the iron-on patches tend to fall off.

Thanks for supporting our girls!  And "YAY" to a fun trip!

Food Pantry visit

We walked our food donations over to the Trinity Church, where we met Theresa Murray-Clasen, director of the Just Basics Food Pantry.  She gave us a tour and asked the girls what Philanthropy meant.  She explained the difference between the Food Bank (really big) and Food Pantries (smaller).  She asked them the difference between non-perishable and perishable food.  The Food Pantry does accept perishable food from places such as: Panera Bread, Shaw's, Hunger Mountain Co-op and Manghi's.  They also receive food from the Food Bank (in Barre) as well churches, food drives and from many individual donors.  Theresa didn't mention that they also receive fresh produce and eggs from volunteers gleaning the Farmer's Market and local farms.  (I know this, because I am a gleaner!)  UES donated 600 lbs. of food this year and the high school donated 500 lbs.  (Way to go, Union!!!)    Efficiency Vermont donates light bulbs so people can cut down on their electric costs.

Just Basics Food Pantry serves: 72,000 meals per year; 5,000 people per year; 275 families per year.  75% are adults.  1/3 are children.  Each shopping experience provides enough food for 2 weeks.  Most people come once per month, some people they only see once or twice.  This Food Pantry serves Middlesex, Worcester, Calais, East Montpelier and Montpelier. 

Volunteers take the donations, weigh them, record the donor's name, address & weight of donation so Just Basics can send a thank you note and donors can be aware of how much they donated.  Perishable food is put in refrigerators.

Shaw's donates shopping carts and baskets, so people can come in and feel like they are having a real shopping experience.  Volunteers help sign shoppers into the shop.  "They are really nice to everybody," Theresa shared. 

Brownies weighed their donations (put in a postal box, then subtracted 2 lbs. for the weight of the box), recorded the weight and processed the food (put in right place on shop's shelves).  They also went into a big room where there were boxes categorizing the type of food.  This must be where larger donations go after they are weighed to get sorted.  First, girls had to check the expiration dates.  If the food is expired, it goes on the "Old Fogies table".  If it isn't then, it gets sorted into the appropriate box.  Our Brownies donated 32 pounds of food!!

This was an amazing learning experience for the girls and they were really engaged with the process!  Thank you to Theresa!

Learning about the Food Pantry

Putting our donated food into Postal box

Weighing our donated food

Processing our donated food

Processing the food we donated

Checking for expiration dates

Checking dates and getting ready to sort the food

Wrapping up

Trinity Church from the back

Liveable Wage, Thrift Stores, 211, & Guest Speaker re: emergency know-how (flooding)

Girls are learning all about Vermonters' needs and resources.  They learned what a "livable wage" is ("the hourly wage or annual income sufficient to meet a family's basic needs plus all applicable Federal & State Taxes")  and how many Vermonters do not earn a livable wage ("1 out of 4 full-time workers earned less than a liveable wage for a single person ($24,086/yr) in 2003")*.    We discussed that there are times Vermonters who DO earn a livable wage sometimes need help, too.  It's nothing to fear, however, there are times when families need some extra help due to a natural disaster or an illness - that can make families fall behind in their bills.  
*VT Liveable Wage Campaign 2007

http://www.vtlivablewage.org/faqs.html#How%20many%20Vermonters%20dont%20earn%20a%20livable%20wage

As part of Step 3 of the Philanthropist Badge (Talk about people in need of clothing and charities to volunteer to), girls learned about local clothing resources:

CLOTHING DONATION SITES/THRIFT STORES: IMPORTANT TO RESEARCH CHARITIES BEFORE YOU GIVE!!!

The Bene-fit shop (CVMC): 15 Cottage Street, Barre, VT 05641; 279-4309 Information & Services  371-5364 Volunteer Services Information;  http://www.cvmc.org

Salvation Army:  25 Keith Avenue, Barre, VT 05641;  476-5301 Information & Services;

http://www.barre.salvationarmyvt.org

Trinity United Methodist Church: 137 Main Street, Montpelier, VT 05601; 229-9158 Information & Services Church Office;  http://www.trinitymethodistvt.org

Goodwill (S. Burlington): 1080 Shelburne Road, South Burlington, VT 05403; 802-658-5359 Information & Services http://www.ginne.org

Goodwill (Williston): 329 Harvest Lane Williston, VT 05495; 802-879-0088 Information & Services

http://www.ginne.org

 

211 or http://www.vermont211.org/

Vermont 2-1-1 is the number you dial to find out about hundreds of important community resources, like emergency food and shelter, disability services, counseling, senior services, healthcare, child care, drug and alcohol programs, legal assistance, transportation needs, educational and volunteer opportunities, and much more.

2-1-1 is not an emergency number like 9-1-1, nor is it directory assistance like 4-1-1.

2-1-1 is your first step toward solving everyday problems or when you face difficult times.

It’s a free service. It’s confidential. It’s 24/7.

Step 4 of Philanthropist Badge: Know how to help in times of emergency
Rebecca's sister, Katie, was our guest speaker!  She is a nurse and was working at the Vermont State Hospital in Waterbury when Tropical Storm Irene hit.  She talked with girls about what you need and what you should do during a flood (girls mentioned: clothing, place to stay, call for rescue, clean drinking water and Katie shared the need to get to higher ground). 

 

Staff had heard that some water had to be let out of the Marshfield Dam, so the question was, when would that water hit Waterbury?  Many staff were dealing with their own flooded homes, but went in to work to help out.  There were about 40 staff members there that night.  Staff, not being fully prepared for this event, were quick to explain to patients what was happening and brought them all up to the second floor.  Water filled the first floor and was seen rising towards the 2nd floor from a window.  There were thoughts about needing to move up to the 3rd floor.  Most cell phones stopped working and the fire alarm was making noise for about 3 hours when the power went out.  All of the electrical system was flooded and maintenance were unable to turn off the fire alarm (which eventually stopped when the batteries died).  The supervising nurse was able to get a call in to the National Guard with her cell phone.  The National Guard delivered bottled water in huge trucks.  McDonald's donated food and the Red Cross delivered it.  Around midnight the water started to go down.  New placements were found for the patients and the building closed.  The efforts of the staff, and Katie, were praised.

Katie received an award for her efforts that night.  She also got her photo in the Times Argus twice!