Quilts made by Girl Scouts were featured at the quilt festival.

The GSSJC Breast Cancer Awareness Program sponsored a booth at the 2003 International Quilt Festival which was held at the George R Brown Convention Center from October 29 - November 2. More than 10 quilts were shown from the Program Patchwork Promise Patch Project. Two quilts, which were added to the booth this year, were completed as Silver and Gold Award projects. Senior Girl Scout Katherine created one quilt for her Gold Award project, which will be permanently housed in The Rose Diagnostic Center. Cadette Girl Scout Kaitlyn also created a quilt for her Silver Award project, which will be permanently housed in the Baylor Breast Care Center. As a part of Senior Girl Scout Ashley White’s Gold Award Project, over 5, 000 handmade quilt pins were given out to each visitor. There were hundreds of visitors, who came from near and far (even Japan) and shared their thoughts of the booth in our guest book. Here are a few of their thoughts: Charisse Cossey, executive director of Sisters Network, Inc. said, “The GSSJC quilt booth was awesome with so much beauty and art flowing.” Dorothy O’Keefe, from Alberta, Canada, said, “The quilts were very inspiring for Girl Scouts to learn quilting.” Anita Bates, from Sun City, Arizona said, “It’s wonderful seeing young girls’ imagination at work.” The success of the GSSJC booth at the festival was due to the outstanding help and support of more than 20 volunteers who helped setup, maintain, and breakdown the booth. The Program department would also like to extend its heartfelt thanks to Terri Winsauer, the 2003 International Quilt Festival Coordinator, and to Vickie Magnum for helping make our booth a sensational success!

A girl makes a quilt square at the Girl Scout booth at the International Quilt Show.

Senior Girl Scout reflects on her time in Girl Scouting
by Ashley W.

My mother came home from a meeting at my school one night and asked me if I wanted to be a Girl Scout. I responded, “OK,” without even thinking about what she had asked me. It has now been 13 years, and I am one of three girls left in a troop that once had 23 members. Being a Girl Scout has given me the opportunity to be a leader, a traveler, and a dedicated person who meets the goals she sets.

Girl Scouting offers many chances to show leadership. My troop leader is a breast cancer survivor, and this past year I had the opportunity to participate in Daisies in Bloom, a Celebration of Life at M.D. Anderson Hospital. It is an event that educates mothers and daughters about breast cancer. I was on the girl planning board for this event, and helped arrange the informative workshops and luncheon. Thanks to the planning board’s efforts, Daisies in Bloom was an amazing success and was held again this year. Our troop has read to the underprivileged at the local library, participated in the flag ceremony for the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, and assisted with workshops at Marathon Oil Company’s Engineering, Science, and Technology Day each February.

My parents own their own business, so we do not have very much time to go on family trips. Girl Scouting has allowed me to visit places I had only dreamed about. We spent the night at Sea World three times, sleeping with different undersea animals. I have attended numerous Girl Scout camps, where I’ve slept in tents and even treehouses. I have been sailing. I have slept on both the U.S.S. Lexington in Corpus Christi and Elissa in Galveston, where I had night watch duty and learned knot-tying techniques.

A major focus of Girl Scouts is working toward and achieving a goal. One of the most supreme accomplishments one can have as a Girl Scout is receiving the Gold Award, the highest award available. I am working to meet my goal of obtaining this award. I organized the making of 2,000 mini quilt square pins, which were given away at the Girl Scout’s booth at the International Quilt Festival in Houston in October. While this project may seem insignificant because it is a craft, it is actually consumed over 100 hours of my life. Girl Scouts of all ages have been working on the pins, which made learning about breast cancer fun. My partner in the project, Katherine., made a quilt to be displayed at the festival. It will be donated to The Rose Diagnostic Center, a clinic which provides mammograms and other services for women who are unable to afford them.

Girl Scouting has provided many opportunities for me that I may not have had. Over the 13 years I have been a Girl Scout, I have learned about growing up, leadership, community service, and dedication, important values will be necessary in my future. Girl Scouts has molded me into the person I am today, and I hope to fulfill all of the things I pledge to be in the Girl Scout Law.

Senior Katherine J. presented the quilt she made as her Gold Award Project to Dorothy Weston Gibbons of the Rose Diagnostic Center. Also pictured is Senior Ashley W. who held a mini-quilt pin making booth at the event.