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Community Corner

Girl Scout Project Aims to Provide Backpacks for Kids

Ciara Celestin partnered with Princeton Human Services for her Gold Award project.

A high school senior hopes to help less fortunate kids start off the school year with everything they need by collecting backpacks stuffed with school supplies this summer.

Princeton High School senior Ciara Celestin has partnered with Princeton Human Services to collect the supplies for underprivileged children in the Princeton community, for her Girl Scout Gold Award.

"Our goal is to collect 100 school-supply filled backpacks for the 2012-2013 school year," Ciara said. They will hand out the backpacks in late August.

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Ciara said she hopes to help 100 kids in grades K-6.

New backpacks and lunchboxes for grades K-6 are the main items needed, along with supplies to fill those packs. That includes pens, pencils, notebook paper, crayons, binders, markers, glue and other items.

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Donations are being accepted at Princeton Human Services in the lower level of 380 Witherspoon Street through Aug. 13 during business hours. Blue Ridge Mountain Sports in the Princeton Shopping Center also has a dropoff box for backpacks and supplies. Blue Ridge Mountain Sports is offering 20% off a backpack in exchange for any backpack dropped off in the box at the store.

Ciara said she and her troop leader, Lisa Ullmann, had done a backpack drive with an older troop in previous years with great results.

"I love kids, so I knew i wanted my Gold Award to be centered around something for kids," she said. Princeton Human Services runs the drive annually but this year she is adding her own spin to the effort.

"The part that I'm adding to the backpack/lunchbox/supplies drive is the healthy eating part," Ciara said. "I'm creating an activity book, and healthy meal plan advice book to put in the lunchboxes for the kids to look over. The Executive Director at Princeton Human Services, Cynthia Mendez, has been a huge help."

Three out of the seven girls in her troop have completed their Gold Awards, on topics ranging from organ donor awareness to girl enpowerment, she said.  

In order to achieve the Gold Award, a Scout must complete two "journeys," she said.  A "journey" requires finishing a Girl Scout curriculum book.

"My troop did 'Sow What,' a food-based journey, and 'GirlTopia,' a girl empowerment-based journey," she said. The project must be approved by the Girl Scout Board and the scout must complete 80 hours of work for the project.

"I think the most fulfilling part of my project is yet to come, when we collect all the materials that are going to help these kids start the year off right!" she said.

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