Girl Scout Patches Aid Recovery
September 5, 2002 | Read Time: 2 minutes
After the attacks, the Girl Scouts of Suffolk County, N.Y. — who live less than 50 miles from New York City — wanted to do something to help
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themselves and other young people come to terms with the horrors of September 11.
They devised three “participation patches” to help the girls honor the nation’s rescue workers, to take pride in their country, and to overcome their fears about safety.
The patches — one each for New York, Washington, and Pennsylvania — are not official Girl Scout merit badges, but they are earned in a similar way: Girl Scouts must perform four out of a list of six tasks specific to each of the three attacks.
For example, to earn the New York patch, a Girl Scout can either plan a trip to New York City or learn about any of several New York attractions.
To earn a Washington patch, she can learn about airline security or about the new Office of Homeland Security.
And to earn a Pennsylvania patch, she can write a letter to a local hero — such as a firefighter — or express her feelings about patriotism in an essay, a drawing, a photograph, or some other medium.
No matter which patch they work toward, the girls must also participate in a community-service project, wear a red, white, and blue ribbon, and give a ribbon to a friend.
Since the Suffolk County council displayed the patches on its Web site (http://www.scgsc.org/gscare.html) in December, it has had requests for information about the patches from councils in 30 states and in Canada, Scotland, and Hong Kong.
Megan Maes, 10, of Bay Shore, N.Y., earned a New York patch by learning about Ellis Island, the Statue of Liberty, the Chrysler Building, the Empire State Building, and the Twin Towers. The New York patch was most important to her, she says, since her father and two uncles are police officers there. The attacks were frightening to her.
“They changed me,” she says. On the other hand, since the attacks she’s tried harder to be nice to people she doesn’t like. “Everybody’s nicer to everybody now,” she says.
