Community Corner
'April Showers' Girl Scouts Are a 'Force of Nature'
Two local charities received a boost in supplies this weekend as local Girl Scouts collected green shopping bags full of personal care items.
On a cold and blustery morning atop the hill at Clarkson and Manchester roads, Girl Scouts from Ballwin and Ellisville scurried around two trucks parked along the edge of the Kmart parking lot. Some girls found shelter from the wind by stacking boxes of donations inside the trucks, while others braved the gusty weather head-on, unloading the minivans full of donations.
The chief coordinator for the site, Cindy Pool, directed traffic, collected paperwork, and greeted the volunteers with a smile as they drove through the drop off lanes set up by the Girl Scouts.
The previous weekend, the scouts had delivered bags to homes across the community with the request that they be filled with toiletry items as part of the “April Showers Personal Care Drive.” On Saturday, the scouts collected the donations, which will be distributed through two local charities.
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The Little Bit Foundation, one of the beneficiaries, provides dental and personal hygiene kits for students in St. Louis City schools. Co-founder Elise Tierney of Ballwin said she's eternally grateful for Girl Scouts' hard work.
“These girls are a force of nature,” Tierney said. “Just give them a job to do and get out of their way.”
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Pool said this month's project is important in part because many of the items requested by the Girl Scouts for "April Showers" are not covered by most government assistance programs, which means recipients sometimes are forced to choose between purchasing food for their families and buying them toiletries.
“A lot of people depend on these items,” Pool said. “Can you imagine going without toothpaste for a week, or worse yet, no toilet paper?”
Pool is involved in many aspects of the Girl Scouts organization, from Brownie Troop 2161 chartered with St. Claire of Assisi Church in Ballwin, to the Council level with the Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri. She and her daughters have participated with the “April Showers” fundraiser since it started in 1998.
Operation Food Search, one of the beneficiary charities of April Showers, uses the drive to supplement their other donations, similar to The Little Bit Foundation.
Donations for the April Showers Personal Care Item Drive will continue to be accepted through Saturday, May 7 at Dierbergs Market in Ellisville.
For more information about this charitable event, or to learn more about Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri, please visit their official website.