The Scout motto is “Be Prepared.” And Brownie Troop 229 in Walnut did just that. The scouts gathered coats for neglected and abused children in Chino this Christmas.
“The girls were looking for a service project and I learned about the One Warm Coat drive on the Internet,” explained Troop Leader Mirella Garcia. “And co-leader Brenda Stone knew about the Hillview Acres Childrens Home, so we thought we would collect coats for them.”
The local troop meets at Vejar Elementary School in Walnut, where the 15 members are in the first, second, and third graders. The troop meets Monday afternoons in Stone’s third-grade classroom.
The youngsters began their drive on Dec. 15, gathering coats, sweaters and jackets every day after school.
“The girls were wonderful, it was a great experience,” she said.
Service projects are nothing new for the little scouts. In November, the troop provided a turkey dinner for a family of four in Walnut. It also collected $120 for another family from students and staff.
On the last day of school before the holiday recess, the clothing donations poured in from parents, students and staff. By the end of the day, the Brownies had collected 260 coats for the Chino youngsters.
“This is a great school and community, we couldn’t have done it without them,” the proud troop leader noted.
Last year, more than 2,000 One Warm Coat drives were held across the country to cloth families in need.
While the local girls were a small part of this national campaign, they played a large part in making the holidays a little warmer for other children.
Happy holidays!