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The troop leader's goal is to enrich, educate, and empower each girl in the troop, through planned activities designed to deepen her awareness of self and others. The theme, "Today's Leaders", provides the opportunity for each Girl Scout to grow into caring and confident young women. Hopefully, these experiences will prepare the young girls to succeed in the world and make a positive impact on the community.

During the school year the troop leader, Mrs. Valerie Roach, teaches third grade at a school in Santa Monica. Even in her profession, Mrs. Roach encourages children to get involved in community service. Each year her students participate in social studies community service projects. All of the activities, which are now referred to as "service learning projects", are related to the Native Americans, which are the main focus of California third grade social studies.

For the last four school years, Mrs. Roach's classes have raised $355.00 (each year!) to purchase a wood stove for a Navajo family living in the high desert of the Southwest. This gift of warmth was coordinated by the Southwest Indian Foundation in Gallup, New Mexico. For more information on the foundation's philanthropic programs, Southwest Indian Foundation

Mrs. Roach has taken service learning to new heights with her class's PROJECT FEATHERS. The students are asking their friends, family, and local pet shop owners to save the feathers their birds "drop" and donate them to PROJECT FEATHERS. All of the feathers will be donated to the Hopis living on the First Mesa in Arizona. This Southwest tribe uses the feathers in their ceremonies. If you are interested in donating bird feathers to PROJECT FEATHERS, please email Mrs. Roach at gs852@lafn.org

The third grade social studies curriculum also addresses the issue of protecting our natural resources and keeping the ecosystem in harmony. Timothy Treadwell, the founder of Grizzly People, visits Mrs. Roach's class every year, as part of his Bear and Wild Animal Safety Educational Tour. To find out more about Mr.Treadwell's work with the Alaskan grizzlies and his fox friend,Timmy-King of the North, explore the website of Grizzly People.

Mrs. Roach includes values and character education in her curriculum. She provides for her students the opportunities to be caring citizens in their own "backyard". The class participated in the One Voice Holiday Food Program and donated blankets to Children Helping Poor and Homeless People. Mrs. Roach admires both of these non-profit organizations for their willingness to recruit children as volunteers. If a child experiences the joy of volunteering, he or she is likely to continue community service as an adult. Skip on over to Children Helping Poor and Homeless People and learn the ABC's of kids helping kids.

To get more information on implementing a character education program in the classroom or for a youth organization, visit CHARACTER COUNTS!

To select another "Girl Scout patch"Girl Scout patch