On Jan. 29, the girls and leaders of Junior Troop 549 had the wonderful experience of volunteering at the Manna House. They had an attendance of 14 out of the 16 girls in the troop.

The girls arrived with at least $5 worth of dry food bought specially for the Manna House. These things included peanut butter, Jiffy corn muffin mix, spaghetti and spaghetti sauce. Some of the girls also brought jars of baby food and infant cereal.

The scouts prepared for the trip by discussing the needs of the community, the value of volunteering time to help others, and the types of things that can happen to a family that would cause them to need help from places such as the Manna House.

After arriving at the Manna House, Miss Lisa had the girls sign a volunteer hour’s sheet and told the girls about the different things that the Manna House does. She led a short tour, showing the girls where the donations are dropped off. She explained how the donations are sorted and displayed to be sold. She also told the scouts how the money raised from this is used to help people in the community who are in need.  

The girls were then divided into groups and given jobs to do. They were given different areas in the store and instructed to clear out items that had been there too long and were not selling; they then restocked the shelves with recently donated items.

They sorted the usable items from things that were too old or broken. The girls took care and pride in arranging the items, especially the toys.

Before the troop left Miss Lisa answered questions from the girls and thanked the scouts for their help.

The scouts are planning future projects with them.