How do you sell community service for the sake of helping others? It’s all in how you market it.

Our county Girl Scout troops came together for a fall break Smores and Service night last night. There, 5th grade Juniors through high school scouts came together to make shoes for Ugandan children through Sole Hope. (Not to mention visited and enjoyed s’mores at the end.)

It was great to see scouts of all levels interact (even little sister Brownies!) in the goal of helping others. We had nearly 30 scouts from six troops come together during fall break – a great feat considering our service unit has had low event participation the last several years!

Starting a Smores and Service Night

The great thing about a s’mores and service night? It can be as big or as little as you’d like. It can be a small troop activity, a mom and me (or dad and me), a bridging activity or service unit-led event.

A few things to keep in mind to make you s’mores and service event a success:

• If your troop is seeking donations, set up a volunteerspot or other wish list early.
• Get the word out early!
• Have extra adult hands to explain the project, troubleshoot and manage s’mores.
• Have a weather backup plan for s’mores. We were lucky in that we used a troop meeting space that had an oven; otherwise the rainy weather would have threatened our sweet ending.
• Make sure girls understand what the project is and how it helps others. Use this as a girl “teach the teacher” opportunity.
• If you have Seniors or Ambassadors, give them the choice of helping or participating. High school age scouts sometimes don’t want to be leaders; they just want to be one of the girls!