Local Girl Scouts hosting women’s leadership forum

Troop 30486 earning Bronze Award with unique look to future

Learning to enjoy the present, but keeping an eye on the future, Haddonfield Girl Scout Troop 30486 has decided to stretch outside the (cookie) box and organize a women’s leadership forum to earn the Bronze Award. The event will be held on Wednesday, Jan. 9, at 5:30 p.m. at Christ the King Roman Catholic Church’s Morgan Hall.

“As fifth-grade Junior Girl Scouts, the girls are eligible to earn the third-highest achievement in Girl Scouts called the Bronze Award. The troop came up with the idea for the Women’s Leadership Forum as a team as they were learning about power and leadership,” said troop co-leader Maudi Silver-Mallemat. “They decided that all young people should be able to learn about leadership in all of the different forms and varying pathways and that creating a leadership forum would be the ideal community service project to share what they have learned.”

Silver-Mallemat is serving in her second year as co-leader of Girl Scout Troop 30486, along with Melissa Brand. Brand and Silver-Mallemat were Girl Scouts as children, an experience they both enjoyed, and they, in turn, feel good about sharing that experience with their daughters and the rest of the troop.

According to Mallemat-Silver, each of the girls identified and contacted local female community leaders. Nearly all of the women contacted replied they would be attending the forum. Although mum on specifics, she revealed the panel will feature women in local government, law enforcement, leaders in education, student/community activists and public service. The girls will moderate a discussion focusing on the participants’ roles in the community, how they developed as leaders, their advocacy for others, and their wisdom for young audience members considering community service and leadership in the future.

It’s a heady thing for such young minds to tackle, but the girls seem ready to meet the issues head-on.

“What I most look forward to at the forum is probably hearing that the leaders have to say about how and why they became the great leaders they are today. Mrs. Bellagamba is a great leader because she is a teacher. She is a leader because she is so good at teaching that all of the students that had her for a teacher, including myself, love her and wish that she could always teach us,” said troop member Julia Gauvreau.

Sophia Moore added, “The thing that I am looking to most at the forum is not only to teach others, but learn about leadership.”

Patricia Haciski revealed, “I am looking forward to seeing and hearing from all of the strong women and their stories.”

For the remainder of the school year — once the annual cookie sale is complete — the girls are expected to continue to focus on developing skills in environmental science, how to care for the community, life skills, and entrepreneurship. Once the weather gets better, they will be spending a lot of time together outdoors and strengthening relationships as a troop.

Of course, the girls themselves have some clear ideas about what and how that should be accomplished.

“I think it would be cool to work together with other troops to host drives for people less fortunate than some of us. I also think it would be interesting to host another forum for the community but this time focusing on what we can learn from people from different cultures,” said Lilah Mallemat.

“An event that I would like to do is hold a bake sale to raise money for good cause, like the fires in California. It would be good because we would be learning more about baking, and we would help a community. Win-win,” exclaimed Moore.

Others in Troop 30486 thought it would be a good idea to host another forum for the community focusing on what can be learned from people from different cultures, increased efforts with camping and horseback riding, and even engage in a 24-hour wilderness survival challenge.

“The essential elements of Girl Scouts are to learn to take risks, find courage, build confidence, learn to lead, and to make the world a better place. This troop of 10 and 11 year olds are doing just that and we are so proud of their courage, and confidence to make a difference in our community,” Silver-Mallemat added.

For more information about the event, Girl Scouts and Troop 30486, contact Silver-Mallemat at maudijo@gmail.com.