MEXICO – For their annual service project Girl Scouts in Troop No. 1520 of Mexico, have adopted a company of soldiers.

The troop, in the fourth and fifth grades at Meroby Elementary School, adopted soldiers in the 1st Army’s 1/121st Field Artillery united serving in Baghdad.

This is the first step in the Scout troop’s quest to earn a Bronze Award, which is the highest award for any Girl Scout. The girls need to complete a certain number of badges and documentation of other events in order to qualify for the award.

The idea for the Troop To Troop campaign came from troop volunteer Janet Hall.

“She felt that the soldiers had been forgotten and wanted to do something to help them and remind the community that they are still in need of help and support from home,” said the Girl Scout troop leader, Janine Young.

The unit includes 184 soldiers including 80 Army National Guard soldiers from Maine, Young said. She said the troop selected the unit because the Maine soldiers would make it easier for the girls to connect with the unit.

The unit has the task of delivering supplies to frontline soldiers, said Hall, the campaign coordinator. “Their lives are in danger every day as much as the ones in the frontline,” Hall said. “All the soldiers that are serving have many needs from their homeland.”

The girls are helping find sponsors for each soldier in the unit. Each soldier is represented by a lapel pin and the when a person volunteers to sponsor them they get the pin. The volunteer agrees to send the soldier items from a list provided by the scouts including: lip balm, sunscreen, baby wipes, hand sanitizing solution, pens, pencils, sharpeners, blank greeting cards, disposable cameras, small boxes of cereal, instant noodles, pretzels, chips, batteries, gum, lollipops, yo yo’s, squirt guns, small flash lights, electric hand held games, CD players, mini fans, foam footballs and basketballs, and other handmade items.

So far things are going well for the scout troop, Hall said.

“The community support has been overwhelming,” she said. “It’s wonderful to see how people are willing to help. There have been 100 soldiers sponsored so far we still have 84 left to either get sponsored or shop for ourselves.”

Those who don’t want to or are unable to sponsor a solider can still participate by providing a few items on the list, she said.

The girls spent a recent meeting writing letters to the soldiers wishing them happy holidays and urging them to stay safe. They also signed letters that are going out to community organizations and businesses to help with monetary donations to help cover the cost of postage for shipping all the gifts to the soldiers.

Young said the scouts hope to maintain communication with the soldiers they’ve sponsored.

“We’re hoping that they respond to the girls and tell us about their family, and their jobs,” she said. Young said the troop also hopes to go to the airport when the time comes to welcome the soldiers home. She also said the girls hope to inspire others to act kindly towards other soldiers.

“We’d like to inspire someone else to ‘pay it forward’ by adopting another group of soldiers,” Young said.

All items must be delivered to the Girl Scout troop at the Mountain Valley High School during the Christmas in the Valley craft fair. The girls will be filling and wrapping the boxes for the soldiers in the cafeteria on Saturday, Dec. 2 .

To donate or FMI contact Janet Hall at 585-2007; Janine Young at 369-0142; Michelle Cushman at 364-3754; or Tracy Pinkham at 364-3830.