A Purr-fect Plan to Help the Hungry...Girl Scouts will Host Food Drive at The Office Depot Center

     A Purr-fect Plan to Help the Hungry
     Girl Scouts will Host Food Drive at The Office Depot Center
     
     Contact: Lori Ebinger Sullivan (954) 739-7660, ext. 219
     
     For Immediate Release: March 1, 2005
     
     OAKLAND PARK, FL – Side by side with Broward’s favorite feline, Stanley C. Panther, the Girl Scouts of Broward County will host its second annual food drive in celebration of Girl Scouts 93rd national birthday on Saturday, March 12. First time corporate sponsor, the Office Deport Center, will present the countywide event entitled, “Feeding Broward Together.”
     
     Last year, approximately 1,500 Girl Scouts brought in more than 8,000 pounds of food. To meet this year’s goal of 10,000 pounds, Girl Scout Troops will conduct food drives at their schools, places of worship and in their neighborhoods during February and March.
     
     On March 12, the Office Depot Center will host a drop-off/collection center between 9 a.m. and 12 p.m. at their location in Sunrise. Girl Scouts from all over Broward County, with their Leaders and parents, will collect, weigh and organize the individual Troop drive donations and donations from the public. Stanley C. Panther will be on hand to greet guests as the food is delivered.
     
     Nine year old Madeleine Morin is a member Troop 1199 that led the field with the largest donation of food during last year’s event, 463 pounds. Last year, Troop 1199 gave out decorated paper grocery bags and asked people to fill them up and return them. Madeleine and her troop-mates are ready to top that total in 2005. “We’re going to ask to host a booth at our local grocery store,” she explained. “That way, when people come in they will see us and they can buy something extra for our collection.”
     
     Thirteen-year-old Sheila Just and her three-girl Troop 453 will tap their creativity for the 2005 food drive after being surprised by their second place win in 2004 with a donation of 393 pounds. “We were totally shocked that we won second place. We delivered laundry baskets with hand-made signs to local businesses and asked them to help us fill them up. I don’t know what we’ll do this year, but we think we can bring in more food and maybe reach number one!”
     
     Donations collected at “Feeding Broward Together” will benefit the Million Meals Committee of the Coordinating Council of Broward. The CCB works with a countywide entire network of food pantries and community outreach programs, including the Jubilee Center, Catholic Charities, Kids in Distress and the Daily Bread Food Bank. These groups, and many others, depend on donations to stock their shelves. A multitude of donations are received during the “holiday” months of November and December; however during the rest of the year, dwindling food supplies often mean less meals for the hungry.
     
     Leslie Roth, Executive Director/CEO for the Girl Scouts of Broward County, was at the collection center last year. “It was amazing to watch our girls pulling up wagons full of food and balancing it on the scales – I was inspired,” she recalled. “Community service is a cornerstone of the Girl Scouts, and this event gives all of us the opportunity to address hunger in our own community.”
     
     Girl Scouts of Broward County, Inc. serves more than 9,100 girls and 4,500 adult volunteers. Each year they plan a countywide community service project to celebrate the national birthday of Girl Scouting in the USA. For more information about “Feeding Broward Together,” contact Nicole Vaughan at (954) 739-7660 ext. 243.
     
     To learn more about the Girl Scouts of Broward County, including information about registering your girl, adult volunteering or public support opportunities visit www.browardgirlscouts.org.
     
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