'We do more than just cookies.' Girl Scouts shine, serve community at Suffern's Veterans Day event
The gifts sparked a conversation among the veterans about what it means to serve one's country and community.
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Gaelle Jules and Amelia Mena, of Girl Scout Troop 40201, were back at the Suffern Community Center Tuesday for the village's annual Veterans Day luncheon with a bag of handmade gifts for local veterans.
Community service is their main game. They beautify neighborhoods. They send cards to troops overseas. They always look for chances to befriend their elders, especially veterans.
"If there are seniors in need, we can help them," Gaelle, a fourth-grader, said, "like we can spend time with them."
A group of veterans were visibly moved when Jules and Mena passed out small decorations with hand-drawn images of the American flag on one side and a thank-you message on the back.
The gifts sparked a conversation among the veterans about what it means to serve one's country and community.
Air Force veteran John Cappello said the Girl Scouts are serving their community quite well.
"Not everybody has to be in the military to serve," he said. "Not everybody has to be a first responder to serve. I think just serving your community, just being a good neighbor, is service. I think Veterans Day is a good day to remind people of that."
It also seemed to be a good day to let Cappello know the girls are considering serving the way he did.
"I look forward to serving and protecting our country," Gaelle said.
Both girls' parents want the veterans' stories to rub off on them.
That is why they attend this event every year.
"We want them to know that you have freedoms," Gaelle's mother Betty Jules said, "and you guys are able to do the things that you do because somebody else paved the way for you do it."
And perhaps Gaelle and Amelia might serve together one day in another kind of troop, and be back at the community center in 60 years receiving gifts from young people they will have inspired to serve.
Girl Scout Troop 40201's next big service project has to do with the drop-off and pick-up procedures at their school.
The troop is working on a new sign and a public service announcement to encourage patience among parents and to prevent them from honking their horns at one another.
