EASTHAMPTON — In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, Girl Scouts Katie Hinkle and Brianna Chartier decided to help out by making masks and distributing them to the Soldiers’ Home in Holyoke and local first responders.
“Me and my friend Brianna thought this would help,” said Katie, 13, who is in seventh grade at White Brook Middle School.
Katie and Brianna are just two of the local Girl Scouts chipping in to help others in the pandemic.
“Girl Scouts sets the stage,” said Pattie Hallberg, chief executive officer of the Girl Scouts of Central & Western Massachusetts.
Hallberg said the organization teaches its members that they “can change the world.”
“We instill those kinds of values,” she said.
Brianna, 12, who is in sixth grade at White Brook, said she and Katie learned how to make masks from a video.
“A lot of people are getting sick and they didn’t really have masks,” Brianna said.
The girls made around 100 masks each that they delivered to the Soldiers’ Home and to the Easthampton Fire Department. The Soldiers’ Home has been especially hard hit by the coronavirus, with 66 veteran residents dying from the virus as of Sunday, and more than 160 other residents and staff sickened.
Both girls said that they intend to make more masks, and Brianna has also produced a guide for people to make their own.
“I get to get out of the house,” said Katie, on what she likes most about the project. “And that I help people stay healthy and safe.”
Another Girl Scout who is making masks to help out others in the pandemic is Amber Tucker, 15, of Hadley. Tucker is in 10th grade and attends Hopkins Academy.
“Everybody’s going to need a mask,” she said.
Tucker said that the idea to make masks was brought to her by her old reading teacher.
“She told me how I could be a hero by helping out the community,” Tucker said.
Tucker said she has sewn about 25 masks, and is looking to donate 100 of them. She said that she is looking to get in touch with the Hadley police and fire departments about distributing the masks.
Tucker is already working with the departments for her Gold Award project, which involves collecting stuffed animals, cleaning them, and then giving them to the departments so that they can be given out to children in disaster situations.
The Gold Award is the highest award given out by the Girl Scouts.
Few food items are more beloved than Girl Scout Cookies, and Scouts Felicia Fil, Jackie Pliska and Monica Rosa are spearheading a campaign to get boxes of these treats into the hands of workers fighting the pandemic.
“I think it’s going to mean a lot to the people who receive them,” said Fil.
Fil, 18, Pliska, 18 and Rosa, 17, all of Hadley, have been in a troop together since first grade.
“It kind of gave me a second family,” said Rosa.
Fil was originally approached by Nancy Craker-Yahman, of the Gratitude & Thanks Project, to see if her troop would be interested in making cards for those on the front lines of the pandemic. Others working with the Gratitude & Thanks Project include Amherst Montessori School, Lander-Grinspoon Academy and Hadley Elementary School.
Fil brought the idea back to her troop, and she, Pliska and Rosa decided to incorporate sending Girl Scout cookies out with the cards.
“Our cookie season got cut short,” Fil said. “This is a great way to get rid of our cookies.”
The troop reached out to the community for donations so that they can provide cookies to front-line workers. Donations are needed because the troop buys the cookies from the local Girl Scout council.
The other Hadley Girl Scout troops have also joined in, contributing cookies and agreeing to provide cards.
“It’s kind of just grown into this big collaborative project,” Fil said.
So far, more than $600 has been raised for the effort. In addition to providing cookies to front-line workers, the donations also support the Girl Scouts.
“A lot of people in Hadley have donated money toward this,” said Pliska.
The cards made by the girls, and the ones they’ve seen from other troops, have names and troop numbers on them. The cards also include inspirational sayings and words of encouragement.
The cookies and cards have yet to be delivered, but some of the planned destinations are the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home, Baystate Health in Springfield, Cooley Dickinson Hospital, and the Massachusetts National Guard.
“I’m so proud of these three,” said Barbara Pliska, their troop leader and Pliska’s mother. “They continually step up for community service events.”
Fil has received her Gold Award, which involved setting up bingo nights and a prom for senior citizens, while Pliska and Rosa are preparing their presentations. Pliska’s Gold Award project involved raising money for and creating a rock wall for Zatyrka Park, while Rosa’s project involved recording the stories of senior citizens and then sending them cards, along with boxes with mementos recalling moments in their lives.
Bera Dunau can be reached at bdunau@gazettenet.com.