Honoring Veterans with Girl Power

Girl Scouts founder, Juliette Gordon “Daisy” Low, believed in the power of every girl. So much so that she organized the first Girl Scouts of the USA troop in March 1912, in Savannah, GA and every year since, the organization made her vision a reality, helping young girls discover their strengths, passions and talents.

Today, they are 2.7 million strong with 1.9 million girls and 800,000 adult volunteers. Their mission is, “Girl Scouting builds girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place.”

While there are many Girl Scout troops nationwide doing great things and living up to the organization’s mission, one local troop has been working on a special project that will make the entire community proud – planting and caring for the flower planters at Great Lakes National Cemetery (GLNC) in Holly, which has been an active project since the spring.

According to Troop 77769 Leader Ashley Dagher of Fenton, “Before I started looking into this, I had talked to the girls and brainstormed ideas for learning about how to care for plants. We collectively decided to see if the cemetery had any options for us to help them with their gardens.”

They started this endeavor by contacting GLNC personnel. “I sat down for a meeting with them, and they told me they had planters at the Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery (Illinois) that they would transport here for us to plant and tend,” Dagher said. “The girls and their parents have been taking shifts, going out four times a week to water and tend to the flowers. It has been a labor of love, but they have done such a great job keeping them beautiful for our service members and their families.” The troop partnered with Gerych’s in Fenton, who donated all the soil and flowers for the project. “Without their help, it would have been a huge financial cost for our troop,” Dagher added.

“The troop’s experiences at the National Cemetery are embedded in us. Yes, there are some gardening lessons in there, too; but it’s so much more.”

Susan Phillips, Troop Volunteer

The GLNC is very pleased with the result of the Girl Scouts’ project. “It is absolutely fantastic for these Girl Scouts to come in and have the mindset to serve our community and veterans by maintaining these flowers,” stated GLNC Assistant Director, Richard Munoz.

In a May 14 social media post, the GLNC shared the sentiment: “A HUGE thank you to Girl Scout Troop 77769 from Fenton, MI for planting and maintaining some beautiful planters which are now located in front of our Public Information Center here at the Great Lakes National Cemetery. These girls, their leaders and family members along with our gardener (Peter Sardo), and our Cemetery Director Andre Logan came and made the planters look amazing. … Again, many thanks to all the girls who took this on themselves!”

Jon Gerych said their donations were made, in part, to honor his late father, John Gerych Sr., who was a staff sergeant in the U.S. Army. “My dad would have made these donations, as he always tried to help, especially the veterans,” he said, adding that Gerych’s has always had a positive view of both Girl and Boy Scouts. “We love their spirit and this great project. They’re trying to do the right thing and we are proud to partner with them.”

Dagher is very proud of her troop members. “All of our veteran-related projects have taught the girls so many valuable lessons,” she said. “Every time we are out at the cemetery, they read the names on the headstones they come in contact with and reflect on what is written. They have gained a sense of commitment, loss, reverence, and a deeper sense of the cost of freedom.”

Fenton resident Susan Phillips is an active Girl Scout volunteer. She became involved because her granddaughter is a member of Troop 77769.

Phillips has considerable background with both scouting organizations. “Scouting is so important for providing leadership building, new experiences, team-building and teaching a sense of service,” she said. “These young women will develop the skills to be a part of the bigger picture as adults. They have a strong sense of community, value their friendships and their families and are very patriotic.”

Both the girls and troop leaders wanted to do more for the cemetery, Phillips informed. “Leader Ashley comes from a military family, as do I. Many of the girls also have relatives buried at GLNC. Visiting the cemetery is such a pleasure – the troop loves it there. It’s beautiful and peaceful and is a wonderful place to see eagles flying over the lake. The Avenue of Flags is breathtaking and the sound of the flags in the wind is calming.”

“This is much more special to them than growing a vegetable garden,” Phillips added. “When the girls attended the dedication ceremony for Fenton’s Veterans Memorial at Freedom Park, they were well versed in what was taking place. It kind of brought things full circle for them.

“As far as a teaching experience, this has been a troop-wide one for the girls and their families,” Phillips continued. “The girls and parents always say they feel so good after going. It’s special and unique to just us. It is doing our small part. The troop’s experiences at the National Cemetery are embedded in us. Yes, there are some gardening lessons in there, too; but it’s so much more. The girls volunteer to write letters and pack care boxes to send overseas to our soldiers and it means more. They understand the importance of protecting our country.”

About Troop 77769

Members of Troop 77769 (Girl Scouts of Southeastern Michigan) are girls who will be in third to fifth grade this coming school year at Fenton’s Tomek-Eastern and North Road Elementary Schools, and Holly Academy. Ashley Dagher shares leadership duties with her Co-Leader, Alexis Foreman.

The troop has great support to help facilitate their many projects. “We are very fortunate to have quite a few parents and grandparents who are troop support volunteers, which means they are background-checked and registered with Girl Scouts,” Dagher informed.

“We started out in 2022 with 12 girls and have grown to 17 this past year,” she added. “Alexis and I started the troop, since there was no Brownie troop in our area at the time that had open spots for our daughters.” Over the last two years, three girls from another troop have joined Troop 77769. “They had watched us do all of these amazing things for our community and all the fun we have, and they wanted to be a part of our active troop,” Dagher shared.

Since its founding, the troop has been very active in the community. The girls participated in Earth Day cleanups in Fenton, cleaned up the woods around Tomek-Eastern Elementary, made birthday cake kits for the Fenton’s local food pantry, and assembled first-aid kits which they donated to Snuggle Sacks, another local organization that helps the homeless. Other activities at GLNC include laying wreaths for Wreaths Across America, cleaning headstones and picking up flags after Memorial Day. They donated treats and spent time with Blue Star Service Dogs, a local organization that trains dogs for veterans. The girls have also collected Girl Scout cookie donations which they donated to Whaley Children’s Center, and the Fenton Fire and Fenton Police Departments.

“They also helped make care packages to send to our troops overseas around Christmas time with the Linden Pay It Forward Project,” Dagher added.

“Our troop has grown so much because we are so present in the community and at school,” Susan Phillips said. “It takes many adults to move us to and from activities. We are fortunate to have the full support of all our girls’ families, which allows them to pursue many opportunities.”

Next year, they will start running their meetings and continue to make decisions as a group. “As leaders, we don’t run the troop,” Phillips said. “We lead and guide.”

Girl Scout Troop 77769