Breckenridge Texan

By Carla McKeown/Breckenridge Texan

Breckenridge’s Girl Scout Troop 8356 recently worked with a regional organization to help share some funds within the community.

The Girl Scouts teamed up with the Leon-Bosque Resource Conservation & Development Council to use some money from the council to benefit three Breckenridge organizations, the Breckenridge Independent School District Backpack Program, Villa Haven Health and Rehabilitation Center residents and First United Methodist Church’s Café Love.

“COVID-19 has severely limited what we have been able to do,” Troop Leader Kim Fuller said. “Our troop has not been able to meet, take any field trips or perform any community service projects since March of 2020 until this past November. Our girls were anxious to begin work within the community, learn and grow leadership skills again.”

The Leon-Bosque RC&D Council is a part of the National Association of RC&D Councils, as well as the regional and state organizations, which typically identify unmet needs within their communities and help solve the problems. Many of the organizations’ projects are agriculture-related, but they also assist small businesses, tourism programs and cultural heritage projects, according to the NARC&DC’s website.

Fourteen counties are included in the Leon-Bosque RC&D, which gets its funds from a variety of sources, including county sponsorships and fines levied by TECQ on counties, municipalities and private industries for environmental violations.backpack

“This is not typical of how organizations normally use funds. However, 2020 is far from a typical year due to the COVID 19 pandemic,” said Burrell McKelvain, Stephens County Director for the Leon-Bosque RC&D. “During the last quarter of the year, the council approved the use of the available funds for community grants to attempt to assist some of the communities with serving the elderly especially those in a long term care facility, low income families and children during the Christmas season. Since the Council is not familiar with those organizations in each member County, the Girl Scout Troop 8356 was approached to see if they would be willing to help find appropriate groups in Stephens County that would help identify and administer Council funds to achieve Council goals. This assisted in achieving the RC&D Council goals and also assisted the Girl Scout Troop members with fulfilling some of their community service award goals.”

Breckenridge Girl Scout Rihana Fuller shops for items to share with others in the community as part of a project with the Leon-Bosque RC&D Council. (Courtesy Photo)

Fuller said the Girl Scouts and members of the RC&D council brainstormed together to identify the organizations to assist. They were able to provide “supplies and service to help provide food and enhance each of these wonderful Stephens County, Texas, programs,” she said.

“The Breckenridge ISD Backpack Program received apples, oranges and sweet treats for all of the children in the program over the Christmas break. Villa Haven Health and Rehabilitation Center received a hand-decorated gift bag for each resident, including chips, sweet and savory snacks, lotion, large print activity books, hard candy, playing cards, blank note cards and envelopes, pens and several other items,” Fuller explained. “We were also able to provide the activities director with many items she requested to be able to give residents prizes for winning bingo games. First United Methodist Church of Breckenridge’s Cafe Love was given canned goods during the East and South Elementary canned drive and the girls will help sort and organize those items for distribution and provide lunch supplies to help contribute to the Cafe Love feeding program.”

The RC&D Council appreciated the work the Girl Scouts did. “The RC&D Council Board of Directors was pleased with the Girl Scout Troop and their adult leaders in choosing partners in the community to accomplish the goals of assisting local residents, school age children and those in a residential care facilities during the COVID pandemic,” McKelvain said. “Working with the BISD Backpack Program, Villa Haven Nursing Center and Café Love at First United Methodist Church, the RC&D Council was able to meet the goals of providing nutritional food, snacks, small gifts and entertainment items during the Christmas season and hopefully raised the spirits of all that benefitted during this time.”

Fuller said the troop was honored that the Leon-Bosque RC&D chose the Girl Scouts to help organize and facilitate the funds allotted to Stephens County. “As we enter into our Cookie Sale Season, we hope to be able to do many more community projects with our fundraising proceeds as well as continue with the goals and learning projects that we’ve had to put on hold this last year due to COVID,” Fuller said. “We look forward to the continued community support in all we do.”

In the past, the Leon-Bosque RC&D used the community grant program to benefit local organizations, including the Swenson Memorial Museum, which received grants for grouting exterior windows for stabilization, work on the stairway to the second floor, restoration and renovation of the second floor of the museum, replacement of roof with Economic Development Corporation partnership, and replacement of windows in the J.D. Sandefer Oil Annex.

The RC&D also gave the City of Breckenridge a $500 grant for assistance in completing the skateboard recreation facility, and in 2019 Stephens County received grants for tire and trash clean-up projects.

For more information about the Leon-Bosque RC&D Council, contact Burrell McKelvain, Stephens County Director, at 9943 FM 1853, Moran, TX 76464 or 235-660-4159.

The girls in Breckenridge’s troop 8356 recently teamed up with the Leon-Basque RC&D Council to provide food and other items to several local organizations, including Villa Haven Health and Rehabilitation Center. From left are Rylee Fuller, Gabriella Herring, Kodee Crawford, Athena Sanders, Rachel Burchett, Faith Walker, Mariana Ruiz (in front) and Rihana Fuller. (Photo courtesy of Kim Fuller/Girl Scouts)

Cutline, top photo: Employees from Villa Haven Health and Rehabilitation Center accept gift bags from Girl Scout Troop 8356. The Girl Scouts teamed up with the Leon-Bosque RC&D Council to provide food and other items to the residents at Villa Haven, as well as the BISD Backpack program and First United Methodist Church’s Cafe Love. Girl Scouts pictured are, from right, Kasey Walker, Athena Sanders, Gabriella Herring, Kodee Crawford, Rihana Fuller, Rylee Fuller, Rachel Burchett, Faith Walker and Mariana Ruiz. (Photo courtesy of Kim Fuller/Girl Scouts)

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