Girl Scout Programs provide a wide variety of activities to support Leadership outcomes:

Discover

Develop a strong sense of self
Develop positive values
Gain practical life skills
Seek challenges in the world
Develop critical thinking

Connect

Develop healthy relationships
Promote cooperation
Resolve conflicts
Advance diversity
Feel connected

Take Action

Identify community needs
Are resourceful problem solvers
Advocate for themselves, others
Educate and inspire others
Feel empowered to make a difference
Advocate for themselves
Advocate for others

Girls Scouts have many opportunities to camp.

Troop camping is available to those troops with an adult trained in Girl Scout camping for sleepovers at the Girl Scout House, cabins, tents, or wilderness camping.  Most troops have a volunteer that introduces appropriate camping skills at each level in scouts, from rolling a sleeping bag to purifying water.

Encampments are schedule every year or two where every troop in Hingham or the South Shore area are invited to camp together. Troops plan their meals and packing individually but are also part of larger group activities, usually centered around a theme. 

Day camps are available during school vacations and are offered by the Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts. From Hingham, buses may be available to the camps in Plymouth and Waltham.

Overnight camps are available during school vacations. GSEM has many camps to select from, each having their own specialty and excitement.

Visit http://www.girlscoutseasternmass.org/ for details on GSEM camps.

Girl Scouts promise "to help people at all times". Girl Scout leaders work with girls to teach them to be active and responsibile citizens in the community. Older girls develop leadership skills by working with younger girls to complete service projects. Here's a sample of service projects where the girls made a difference in someone's life.

• Made valentine cards, wrote letters, and created care packages for local and US soldiers
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• Collected clothes, Halloween costumes, gifts and 2,500 books for Cradles to Crayons
• For Hingham Food Pantry, collected food, donated Girl Scout cookies
• Baked breads for the Hingham Senior Center as part of the Spread the Bread project
• Baked loaves of tea bread for Hingham Meals on Wheels
• Replaced cemetery flags at the graves of soldiers for Memorial Day
• Made children's quilts for Project Linus
• Picked up trash in Moore Brewer Park
• Collected coats for distribution
• Worked at the Cradles to Crayons warehouse in North Quincy - cleaning, sorting and putting away donated items
• Made personal care packages for Rosies Place with home-made lambs wool scrubbies
• Created holiday cards for Hingham Meals on Wheels
• Participate in honoring veterans on Memorial Day
• Made lap blankets for residents at Hingham's Harbor House
• Collect school supplies and backpacks for children in Mississippi
• Helped care for the animals at Weir River Farm
• Participated in a Toys for Tots drive with the Hingham Police
• Donated Girl Scout Cookies to soldiers as part of Cookies for a Cause

Girls have the opportunity to earn awards by completing requirements or demonstrating understanding of a concept. The awards are outlined in Girl Scout program books and may be done with a troop, individually, or part of a program offered by the Girl Scout council. They include:

• Daisy Petals
• Brownie Try-Its
• Junior Badges
• Cadette, Senior, Ambassador Interest Projects
  
• Bridging Awards
• Leadership, Career, and Service Awards
  
• Silver Award. The most prestigous award for Cadettes requiring girls to demonstrate their ability to discover, connect, and take action to make this world a better place.
  
• Gold Award. For girls in High School, this is the highest award available to Girl Scouts. Girls demonstrate their leadership by planning a community project that has a lasting affect, organizing and managing the activities and people involved, raising funds, and implementing their plan.

Passed on for many generations are Girl Scout traditions. 

Ceremonies

Ceremonies are an integral part of Girl Scouts and are used to mark special events and celebrations. Flag ceremonies, bridging ceremonies, and award ceremonies are celebrated often. More detail can be found at http://www.girlscouts.org/program/gs_central/ceremonies/

Swaps

A Girl Scout swap is a small momento shared between 2 girls that meet at an event. When attending a state or national encampment, it has been tradition to bring a supply of swaps to distribute to new friends you have made. Read more and see examples: Swaps.doc

Songs

At troop meetings, around the campfire, or at International jamborees, songs are a long time tradition of scouting. The Internet is a great place to locate the favorites and there are published books and CDs available at Girl Scout shops. 

What is a Journey?

A Journey is a set of activities centered around a theme that provides girls with leadership skills from Kindergarten through to Grade 12. Currently there are 3 Journey themes for troops to select from:

It's Your World - Change It!
It's Your Planet - Love It!
It's Your Story - Tell It!

Each Journey has a Leader's guide and a girls' book, which is used to learn about the theme and includes many activities and projects relating to the theme. Along the way, girls may earn awards.

For Cadettes, Seniors, and Ambassadors, completion of a Journey is part of the Silver and Gold Award requirements.

Visit http://www.girlscouts.org/program/journeys/ for more information.

South Shore Quests

For all ages, this non-profit organization publishes a book for $6, available at the Hingham Library, that includes 15-20 local hikes. Each hike is turned into an adventure as the girls look for clues that will lead them to a hidden box. Visit www.SouthShoreQuests.org for more info.

Triphammer Pond

For all ages, this hike takes you around the pond in less than hour. You can examine the plants along the path, lichen, trees and leaves. Watch for birds. Find the top of the pond where water comes in, and the bottom of the pond where water flows out. If you walk around the pond clockwise, you will come to a picnic table near the end of the hike.

Managed by Hingham Conservation, this pond is located not too far past the Hingham Library. From Main Street, turn right on to Levitt. About a mile up, turn right on to Popes Lane. Follow Popes Lane to the parking lot at the Pond.

Jacobs Pond

For all ages. Located across from the South Shore Science Center, this hike is 1.5 miles along the north west part of the Pond to Look Out Point where you get not only for a view, but picnic tables to relax at. Notice they are tucked in a field of Beech trees.

Before you start, take a moment to read about the experimental forest near the parking lot. This hike shows the girls a well marked trail and has an excellent trail map in the parking lot.

Blue Hills Reservation

For all ages. Well marked trails can bring you up a fun and rocky terrain to the top in only 30 minutes (red dot trail), or take a more leisurly stroll through the wooded trails (green dot), or spend 1 hour walking around Houghton's Pond. Near the parking lot you will find animals, and indoor museum, and restrooms. At the top is a spectacular view and picnic tables. More info.