Members of Girl Scouts Troop 3131, the first Jewish troop in the national organization’s almost 100-year history, hold their meetings at Chabad-Lubavitch of the West Side in New York City.NEW YORK — The girls of Troop 3131 are just like those at any of the hundreds of thousands such groups around the world: They wear uniforms, earn merit badges, and at last Sunday’s troop meeting over an art project devoted to a recent holiday, told each other about powerful women in their families.
Preteens Comprise First-Ever Jewish Girl Scout Troop
Members of Girl Scouts Troop 3131, the first Jewish troop in the national organization’s almost 100-year history, hold their meetings at Chabad-Lubavitch of the West Side in New York City.
NEW YORK — The girls of Troop 3131 are just like those at any of the hundreds of thousands such groups around the world: They wear uniforms, earn merit badges, and at last Sunday’s troop meeting over an art project devoted to a recent holiday, told each other about powerful women in their families.
But since the beginning of the current school year, these preteens have been forging history. Sponsored by Chabad-Lubavitch of the West Side in New York City, theirs is the first troop in the almost 100-year history of the Girl Scouts of the U.S.A. to be completely Jewish in membership and direction.
Along with the standard fare of outings and discussions about leadership – the troop is planning a camping trip to a regional Girl Scouts facility in upstate New York – the girls get a healthy dose, parents and organizers say, of Jewish values and history.
Shaina Davis, a third-grader at Manhattan Day School, most enjoys making friends, working together and thinking creatively at the twice-monthly troop meetings.
“I’m learning about Jewish good deeds,” says the eight-year-old. “They are important to me as a Jewish girl.”
At the most recent troop meeting, held on the second floor of the Chabad House, young scouts detailed their personal reasons for being proud of their heritage on paper cutouts. Natalie Kahn, also 8, wrote “I love Shabbat,” while Aderet Brenner, 10, wrote about kosher food and the Land of Israel.
As part of an effort toward earning their “Our Heritage” badge from the national organization, they also discussed the minor holiday of Tu B’Shevat – popularly known as the New Year for trees – and made bouquets out of different types of fruit.
In a discussion about their family histories, the girls recounted pivotal stories about their ancestors. Leah Nerenberg, 10, told of how her great aunt broke through a picket line in order to buy a chicken for her hungry family. Davis, meanwhile, told of her grandmother’s narrow escape from the Holocaust and eventual reunion with a long lost brother in America.
Group co-leader Sarah Alevsky, a youth director at the Chabad House, presided over the discussion, telling the charges seated cross-legged in a large circle around her that theirs were “all stories of strength and survival.”
“We are lucky,” she emphasized, “to live in America today where we have the freedom to celebrate our religion easily.”
Former Girl Scout
Actually this is NOT the first all Jewish Girl Scout group. I personally was a member of the Girl Scouts when I was about 12-13 years old in Pittsburgh. The group was all Jewish- the leaders and the girls themselves.
There are others
There is one in Las Vegas ran by the Chabad day school, as well as a a Boy Scout troop that is ran By Chabad of Summerlin
Shoshana Zohari
Yasher koach girls and leaders! But true, not the first troop. We have a Jewish troop in Denver, CO that was started several years ago by one of the local day school teachers and I was both a co-leader and parent volunteer. Girl scouting is a great vehicle for Jewish groups, especially shluchim. I highly encourage other Chabad houses to take a look at it.
not quite
I remember a group 15 years ago in Baltimore. I think they called themselves troop 613. Nice, but far from the first.
Beautiful! One small correction
B“H
A beautiful thing.
One slight correction to the headline writer at ch.info: These girls are not quite ”Preteens“ yet — that would be a label more for ages 11 and 12.
(The original headline on chabad.org would have been more appropriate: Jewish Girl Scout Troop Blazes New Path)
They’re sweet young maidelach — no need to push them to ”Preteen“ status yet, as that will come soon enough, I”Y“H!
May they remain in ”Kosher” Scouting when they reach those all important preteen years, and beyond!