As Girl Scouts celebrate 113 years, a local camp asking for community help
MARTINEZ, Ga (WJBF)- Wednesday, the Girl Scouts of America is celebrating its 113th birthday. Camps across the country are preparing for an influx of girls, except for one local one.
The Girl Scouts are wrapping up cookie season and preparing to head to camp. But with tens of thousands of dollars of work to do on Camp Tanglewood, it's not likely it will be open in time for summer camp.
'I mean, 113 years of legacy. And that is amazing,' exclaimed Shawn Risher, Community Engagement Manager for Girls Scout of Historic Georgia.
Girl Scouts is a global organization that empowers young girls to become leaders in their communities. But the organization had humble beginning, starting in Savannah with 18 girls on March 12, 1912.
'All the volunteers and all the staff work really hard to give the girls such a positive pathway into entrepreneurship and self-motivation and, you know, just willingness to be that empowered young lady,' Risher said.
Cookies and camp are two words that are synonymous with Girl Scouts. Camp Tanglewood in Martinez has been a fixture for more than 80 years.
During Helene it sustained major damage, losing 11 structures. For many who love the camp– seeing the damage was devastating.
'We were actually supposed to be camping the day after, our troop and another troop. We were supposed to be camping there. The cabins we were going to be in had a tree in it. And so just shock and awe and it still, like, makes me cry or get teary, because that would have been awful. But then all the memories,' explained Mona Cox, Youth Coordinator and Troop Co-Leader.
We checked in with Camp Tanglewood in November and saw the devastation for ourselves. Now, 4 months later, the camp looks much different with the storm debris cleaned up.
'We've got most everything cabin wise and structure wise tore down and ready to be replaced. We're just waiting on the proper channels to clear up,' said Risher.
The Girl Scouts organization has insurance on the camp, but Risher explained that it's not enough to cover the cost of the work. They've set up a GoFundMe, asking for the community's help to raise the $50,000 they still need to rebuild.
'These cabins that were destroyed are being replaced at the value of those cabins. So, you know, you can imagine how old those cabins were. So we you know, we just need a little extra help.'
While they won't be open in time for summer camp, the organization is hoping to be ready for one of it's big annual events in September.
'It gives you hope. Everything's going to be okay. It's all going to work out. We're going to rebuild. We'll make new memories. Everything's going to be fine,' said Cox.
If you are interested in volunteering or would like to make a donation to the cleanup effort at Camp Tanglewood, you can find their website HERE and the GoFundMe page HERE.
Also, in honor of its birthday, the Girl Scout of America will be gifting baby girls born March 12, 2025 with a year of membership once they turn 5. Locally it will be given to baby girls born at Doctors Hospital.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
‘Nowhere to go': Owner asks for community's help after her restaurant catches fire, closes
A Jamaican restaurant in University City is closed indefinitely after a fire significantly burned its interior. Cocoa's Jamaican Jerk was operating out of a food truck for ten years as the owner, Paula Brown, worked to open a brick-and-mortar location, she told Channel 9's Eli Brown. But on Saturday, the building caught fire, damaging much of its interior. 'It's just all gone,' Brown said. 'I'm sorry y'all. I worked hard.' The University City restaurant employed many students looking for job experience, Brown said. And much of her food went to people in need. 'When I came here, they grasped me, and they loved me, and I love them back,' she said. 'I love them back. I have so many friends here and so many associates, and that's something I've never had in my life.' READ: Hickory firefighter, 20, dies after medical emergency following overnight fire call She said she was working at Taste of Charlotte in uptown on Saturday when she got the call that a fire had started in her restaurant. The Charlotte Fire Department said the fire was accidental and likely electrical. Brand obtained surveillance footage that caught the sound of flames and the moment firefighters came running inside, but not much more. The lens was likely burned up by that point. Brown said many of the things in her restaurant that burned were handmade and some of it was sent to her from her now-deceased mother and sister. 'Coming here to Cocoa's was like coming out of my bedroom and into my living room,' she said. 'To invite people into my house and socialize and feed them and cook dinner and stuff like that. Now it's like I'm stuck in my bedroom. It's like there's nowhere to go.' She is asking for any help she can get. But she knows for sure she wants to leave behind Cocoa's as her legacy and a love letter to the city she calls home. 'I just wanted to be a part of something,' Brown said. 'In Charlotte, I felt a part of when I didn't feel a part of a lot of other things.' She told Brand that she is unsure of her next steps, but she had a big success at Taste of Charlotte, giving her some hope. Anyone who would like to help Brown and Cocoa's Jamaican Jerk can visit the Cocoa's Needs Us GoFundMe. WATCH: Hickory firefighter, 20, dies after medical emergency following overnight fire call
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Girl Scouts donate nearly 14,000 boxes of cookies at Barnes Air National Guard Base
WESTFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – Nearly 14,000 boxes of Girl Scout cookies are on their way to military personnel, thanks to a generous donation from the Girl Scouts of Central and Western Massachusetts (GSCWM) through their 'Project Care and Share' program. Mass. clean cement company hopes to win back $87M federal award On Monday, GSCWM delivered 1,166 cases of cookies to Barnes Aire National Guard Base and the United Service Organizations (USO), aiming to bring a taste of home and appreciation to service members currently deployed or on duty. The donation is part of the Girl Scouts' ongoing efforts to support the military community and instill civic engagement in young members. Five of the program's top cookie sellers were on site to assist with loading the cookies onto transport trucks. The donation not only supports the morale of military personnel but also teaches young Girl Scouts the importance of giving back and honoring those who serve. WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Kennebunk wildlife biologist had passion for conservation and community
Jun. 9—Shiloh Schulte's family often found him exploring the woods, binoculars in hand, when he was growing up. His childhood interest in wildlife turned into a career in biology and a love for birds that his family adopted. Though his parents and four siblings are spread out across Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, they say one object outside of their homes ties them to Schulte: bird feeders. The 46-year-old from Kennebunk, who has worked on several projects across the country to preserve landbird, seabird and shorebird populations, died in a helicopter crash Wednesday while conducting conservation work in Alaska to survey and record birds. "It's just such a tragedy, there was so much more that he could have done for the world and would have done," his brother Jonah Schulte said. "All we can do is hope to be even a little glimmer of what he was at trying to help." Shiloh Schulte, who most recently worked for the Massachusetts-based research nonprofit Manomet Conservation Sciences, was known in the company for his efforts to restore the American Oystercatcher population by 45%, according to a statement posted to social media. On the day of the crash, Schulte and the helicopter pilot, who also died, were flying from Prudhoe Bay to a remote area of Alaska's North Slope, according to the Boston Globe. The crash occurred on the first day of the study. 'KENNEBUNK SURELY LOST A GOOD ONE' His friends and family said his passion for conservation and community was infectious. Schulte lived in Kennebunk with his wife, 15-year-old daughter Caelyn and 18-year-old daughter Lorien, as well as his sister, Jill, and her young children. When he wasn't traveling for work, Schulte made efforts to be involved in his community, whether it was hosting potlucks or making friends in running groups, his wife, Shevaun Schulte, said. Every spring, she said, he and his family threw neighborhood parties to collect and boil down maple sap. As a father, his wife said, Shiloh Schulte instilled a love of learning in his children, and the family often traveled and went camping together. Loved ones are seeking donations through GoFundMe to support his family. Lorien Schulte said her father enjoyed reading, and was especially fond of "A Wizard of Earthsea" by Ursula K. Le Guin. Even off the clock, she said, he loved to photograph birds and share them on his Instagram account. Schulte, an avid runner who completed the Boston Marathon several times and finished as the top Maine runner in 2019, also served on Kennebunk's select board from 2015-24. Residents will remember him as a "thoughtful, principled" leader, according to a statement posted to the town's Facebook page. "Shiloh was encouraging, courageous, genuine, even-tempered and fair," Select Board member Kortney Nedeau said in a statement Monday. "Kennebunk surely lost a good one." MAKING FRIENDS ACROSS THE WORLD While "tromping through the tundra" at a camp in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in 2019, Michael Boardman, of North Yarmouth, said he was surprised to meet Schulte, a "fellow Mainer in the middle of nowhere." Boardman, who was serving as an artist in residence for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said he appreciated that Schulte was willing to connect with him, even though he's not an expert in science. He said Schulte's willingness to teach others about the whimbrel, a type of shorebird, resulted in him putting more emotion into his field sketches and paintings. Schulte, he said, was passionate about raising awareness of some shorebirds, working to protect them along their long migration routes. "You may never go to the Arctic, but there's a lot of birds that you see during the course of the summer that do," Boardman said. "If they disappear, the world will be a lesser place." Jonah Schulte said his older brother had made friends across the world, from South America to the Eastern Seaboard. Since his death, he said it's been heartwarming to see comments and stories from people on social media and online who knew him. "There's people everywhere that knew Shiloh," Jonah Schulte said, "and were excited to see and hear from him just because they knew that if he was there, it meant there was a good reason to be there." Copy the Story Link We believe it's important to offer commenting on certain stories as a benefit to our readers. At its best, our comments sections can be a productive platform for readers to engage with our journalism, offer thoughts on coverage and issues, and drive conversation in a respectful, solutions-based way. It's a form of open discourse that can be useful to our community, public officials, journalists and others. We do not enable comments on everything — exceptions include most crime stories, and coverage involving personal tragedy or sensitive issues that invite personal attacks instead of thoughtful discussion. You can read more here about our commenting policy and terms of use. More information is also found on our FAQs. Show less
