They’ve been filling our bellies with Thin Mints for decades, but Girl Scouts are about so much more than cookies.
The organization builds courage, confidence and character for girls who make the world a better place.
Two Boca Raton teens are good examples of this. Analiesa Chavez and Kelsey Bonner put together a cookbook that uses ingredients from the pantry bags of groceries that Boca Helping Hands provides to clients.
The West Boca Raton Community High School students are Cadettes with the Girl Scouts of Southeast Florida Troop 20820. While Cadettes are typically in grades 6-8, the girls were granted an extension due to COVID-19 in order to complete their Silver Award — the highest award a Girl Scout Cadette can earn. Analiesa’s mother, Dawn Chavez, is the troop leader.
“We were researching what initiative we could do to earn our Girl Scouts Silver Award and we knew that we wanted to help those less fortunate than us,” Analiesa said in a press release. “We knew about Boca Helping Hands through our troop. We came up with the idea of putting together a recipe book using common ingredients from the pantry bags and thought it would be a great way to help Boca Helping Hands clients.”
Boca Helping Hands, a nonprofit organization that provides food and other services to people in need, posted the cookbook on its website and is sharing it on social media. A new recipe from the book is included in pantry bags each week.
The girls spent four months researching the book and volunteered at the organization to better understand what it does, each earning a Silver Award for their efforts.
“This experience was definitely eye-opening, and it was nice to give back,” Bonner said in a press release. “It feels good that we can help people who are struggling at a time like this.”
Visit bocahelpinghands.org.