LEWISTON — It’s a day in early April and 13 girls are gathered in Hillview Community Center’s Art Room eagerly waiting to hear the jobs they will be assigned before they head out for the annual Walking Cookie Booth.

The girls, ages 7-12, are Girl Scouts in a program relatively unique in Maine. Only two others exist, in Portland and South Portland.

For those of Girl Scout Troops 4055 and 4127 at Hillview Apartments, the cookie booth last month could be simply viewed as knocking on doors and selling cookies to get money for a field trip. But the girls’ leaders say it’s more than that.

“Events like selling cookies, everything we do, it goes into the four pillars of Girl Scouts we teach these girls (STEM, outdoors, entrepreneurship and life skills),” said Megan Main, community program manager for Girl Scouts of Maine who attends Hillview’s weekly gatherings. “Everything we do is to help these girls grow and make sure they’re confident in everything they do.”

Leaders say the differences between the community-based programs and traditional programs are slight, and are seen in how the programs respond to the community of girls in the program.

For instance, the community-based programs are in areas where there are large populations of girls who will take part in an after-school group.

In addition, the Hillview program is funded through the organization and local support, allowing the girls and their parents to forgo membership fees and other expenses sometimes associated with Girl Scout activities.

The community-based programs also help provide free transportation to and from events.

But in many other ways, the programs are similar. Activities fill the calendar, usually focused on community service and entrepreneurship, with the girls earning badges, taking field trips and working together on projects.

WHERE GIRLS BLOSSOM

The day of the Walking Cookie Booth last month was cold and brisk. Before heading outside, the girls lined up in the hallway outside the art room. While the scout leaders made sure they had everything for the walk, the girls were asked to recite the Girl Scout Law:

“I will do my best to be honest and fair, friendly and helpful,” they began.

“Normally we do this at the beginning of our meetings to make sure the girls understand why they are here and how we should treat one another,” said Ellen Weitkamp, community outreach specialist for Girl Scouts of Maine who also oversees the Hillview meetings. “We want to make sure that no matter what’s going on, no matter where they are going, they follow this law. It reminds us that we are all human beings and we need to treat others how we want to be treated.”

Outside the Hillview Apartments complex that day was vibrant: green grass, flowers starting to poke out of the ground, lots of children outside running around and playing games like tag and soccer. The Lewiston Housing Authority, which operates the complex at 77 Rideout Ave., considers Hillview one of its largest non-age-restricted complexes with 94 units.

Despite its vibrancy, the complex sometimes gets a bad reputation because of police calls and gun violence. Main said that’s one reason why the community-based programs are placed in areas like Hillview — to show the community has more to give than people think.

“This is a special community to Girl Scouts of Maine,” Main said. “We’ve had a 20-year partnership with this community and have truly seen growth from our girls. We’ve seen girls come in nervous for their first meeting and blossom into confident leaders who want to help this community and make a difference.

“Without this program, none of these girls in this neighborhood are in Girl Scouts. By providing them it here, it creates a more accessible program for everyone,” she said.

According to Main, 30 girls registered to participate in the Hillview Girl Scouts program this year. She said the number of families signing up their daughters has jumped in the past few years, highlighting that there are about 100 children in the apartment complex.

When the girls got to their first house on that chilly April day, Weitkamp gave instructions: one girl would ring the doorbell, one would ask the person answering the door if they’d like cookies, another would collect the money.

One girl was tasked to pull the wagon, one to keep an inventory of the cookies, and two in charge of promoting the wagon. One was holding a sign reading “Good Vibes, Good Cookies” while the other wore a picture of a Caramel deLites Girl Scout cookie on her back.

After 15 minutes, the girls changed roles.

Debora, 9, was first assigned to pull the wagon. She has been a Girl Scout since age 5 and the weekly Monday Girl Scout gatherings are the highlight of her week.

“It’s really convenient because when I come home from school, I pretty much sit at home,” she said. “Me going to Girl Scouts is a good thing after school since it keeps me busy and it’s something I look forward to doing every week.”

Haboido, 12, said she became a Girl Scout after discovering the group while playing outside a few years ago.

“I remember seeing them and thinking what they were doing was cool,” she said. “I saw them helping people in the community and I wanted to participate with them. This is where I make friends, this is where I socialize. These are where my best friends are.”

Jijo, 7, said that since joining the Girl Scouts a few years ago, she has grown really close to everyone who has joined, and calls everyone in her troop her best friends.

“I didn’t know anyone when I first joined but everyone was so nice and know they’re my best friends,” she said.

GAINING CONFIDENCE

Main said that since she became involved in the Hillview program, she has noticed tremendous growth in many of the girls who take part.

She recalled how when Debora first joined that she sometimes struggled with controlling her feelings. Working with Main and Weitkamp and interacting with the other girls, she has improved her control and also become an integral part of the group.

“To see her now and where she’s come from, that she can communicate with us and realize she needs to take a step back is amazing,” Main said. “It goes to show how much work she’s done.”

Main mentioned another girl, Luce, 9, who has been with the group since kindergarten. When Luce joined, Main said, she struggled to connect with the group, often not answering questions in front of her peers and only speaking to adults one-on-one.

In the past year, Main said, Luce has come “out of her shell,” is displaying a bubbly personality, and showing confidence.

“Seeing her self-worth and her self-confidence as well as engaging with her peers and everyone around her is phenomenal,” Main said.

After the Walking Cookie Booth ended, the girls filed back into the hallway outside the art room. One by one, each girl shared their favorite part of the day.

While most of the responses were about selling cookies, Yasmine, 7, who joined the Girl Scout group 10 weeks earlier, talked about the new friends she made.

“I was so scared to do this at first, but I’m glad I did it because I now know more people than I knew before and can hang out with,” she said.