By JAMES BELL
Hays Post
Tuesday is national S'mores Day, and while many may only use the day as an opportunity to partake in the gooey, sweet treat The Girl Scouts of Kansas Heartland are doing even more by bringing the community together with a snack linked directly to the scouts.
"What some people don't know is that Girl Scouts s'mores are actually known - even by the Hershy's Company - as the first known recipe for an actual s'more," said Muriel Boyce, director of marketing and communications, Girl Scouts of Kansas Heartland. "So who better to celebrate National S'mores Day than with Girl Scouts."
To celebrate the day, the group will offer a free community meal from 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. at the Hays Girl Scout office, 2707 Vine, Ste. 8.
"You can come have lunch with us and bring a friend," Boyce said. "It is hot dogs and chips, a bottle of water, and to end with a perfect dessert, a s'more. And everybody can be thankfully together and find out more about what it is like to be a Girl Scout in today's world.
"We are very excited to have that going on and share that with the community."
And after so many canceled events and group restrictions, she said even being able to offer the meal is a reason to celebrate.
"It's a free event," Boyce said. "It's fun to celebrate the community and everybody being back together again. So we are excited to just invite everyone."
Leaders will also be available to talk about Scout membership, something she said has evolved to accommodate modern life while also honoring tradition.
"What we have done is evolve with the speed of girls," she said. "We still have all of those wonderful outdoor experiences that girls love, but now we just this week introduced 28 new badges that kinda help girls navigate this rapidly changing world."
She also said it is a great time to renew memberships for current members.
One of the most notable aspects of girl scouts is undoubtedly the annual sales of cookies. Still, she said making those sales is as much about teaching valuable life skills as generating operating revenue.
"People always associate cookies with Girl Scouts, but we just want the community to, and everyone, to know that there is just a lot of business skills that go into that program and oftentimes these girls are learning business skills, goal setting, communications, decision making, all of those things," Boyce said.
Along with the cooking selling operation badges, entrepreneurship badges have also been introduced, reflecting the desire to offer relevant life skills to girls.
While keeping an eye on traditional activities, new opportunities are developed in the program she said, building skills that will be vital in the near future.
That's really what Girl Scouts does. It builds future leaders for all of us," Boyce said. "We are very excited just to be getting to help the girls see this at a very young age and then carry it out throughout their whole lives."
Tuesday's event will serve as an opportunity to share more about the modern scouts, but she also said it is a Thank You to the community, reflecting their mission of service.
"That's really a big part of Girl Scouting is giving back to the community," she said.
For more information about Girl Scouts visit kansasgirlscouts.org.