Ivy Tech offers helping hand to Girl Scouts

Ivy Tech Community College-Wabash Valley and the Girl Scouts of Central Indiana are teaming up so that local Girl Scout troops in the Wabash Valley can earn merit badges.

Through this new partnership, Ivy Tech will provide educational programs so that the Girl Scouts can fulfill requirements for several specialty badges.

Ivy Tech Girl Scout Days are scheduled to begin Saturday with sessions from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. and 1 to 3 p.m.

The Girl Scouts will be able to come to the Terre Haute campus on five additional dates for a total of 10 different badge workshops. The two-hour workshops will be led by Ivy Tech faculty and staff and will include, among others, programs in science, visual arts, computers, math and business.

The workshops will be offered for Brownies (grades two and three) and Juniors (grades four and five), with participants having opportunities to earn up to 10 badges.

All Girl Scouts will also receive an Ivy Tech patch for participating in any of the Girl Scout Days.

The patch has the logos of Ivy Tech Community College and the Girl Scouts of America.

Carrie McCammon, mathematics program chair and coordinator of the badge project at Ivy Tech, is a lifetime member of Girl Scouts and has been a leader of a Girl Scout Junior troop at Sugar Grove Elementary for two years.

She hopes other Ivy Tech employees will join her for a fun and satisfying way to fulfill their community service commitment to the college.

McCammon also has other reasons to be thankful for the Ivy Tech-Girl Scouts partnership.

She said, "As an employee of Ivy Tech, I am happy for this opportunity to showcase our great facilities and our dedicated faculty and staff. I am equally excited about the specialty programming this partnership will provide for my Girl Scout troop. It is programming I do not have the expertise, time, or resources to provide on my own."

Jeff Pittman, Chancellor of Ivy Tech-Wabash Valley, said, "Ivy Tech is pleased to have this opportunity to help in the community. The Girl Scouts organization does exceptional work in giving young girls programs that build their confidence and leadership skills while helping them become good community citizens.

"We are proud to play a part in that process," he continued.

Any troop or individual interested in participating should go to girlscoutsindiana.org and click on the Program section to see a list of programs and to register.

Each workshop costs $3, which includes the price of the badge earned.

For additional information about the Girl Scouts of Central Indiana, please contact Deana Potterf at (317) 924-6804 or dpotterf@girlscoutsindiana.org.

For additional information about Ivy Tech's role in the partnership, please contact McCammon at (812) 298-2218 or cmccammo@ivytech.edu.