Senior Girl Scout Troop 40 Reaches Out to Veterans, Young Moms and Others

Know a great kid who made Eagle Scout with a special project? Did a young person in your neighborhood pitch in to help someone in need? Did your local soccer team take the championship? They may be our next Patch Whiz Kids honoree.

Each week, the Basking Ridge Patch seeks suggestions from readers for individual kids, youth groups, teens and even sports teams that wow us with their accomplishments.

Here's this week's "top 40" selection:

Whiz Kids of the Week: Senior Girl Scout Troop 40 of Basking Ridge; Emily DaCosta, Lauren Desatnick, Sherry Kuo, Allison Pine; Kimberlee Lizakowski, Alexandra Mascali, Emily Pensak, Celina Utkewicz, Gina Tarrabocchia, Susan Weiner.

• Whiz Kid's Major Activity: Community service projects as a group, and on an individual basis.
• Whiz Kid's School/Church/Community Center: Senior Girl Scout Troop 40 in Basking Ridge, high school sophomores
• Whiz Kid's Accomplishment: The troop is comprised of 10 members (plus Michelle Kim, a former member who still participates from California) who have taken on many individual and troop projects. Earlier this year, the troop Trick or Treated for baby items and clothing (instead of candy) and then delivered those many donations from their neighborhood to Great Expectations in Franklin Township. The troop met at Veneto Restaurant in The Hills for their holiday party and immediately sat down to work on cards and well wishes for veterans living at the Lyons facility of the New Jersey Health Care System. Troop members are involved in individual projects as well. For example, Lauren Desatnick volunteers at the Matheny Medical and Educational Center in Peapack-Gladstone, and Allison Pine was just accepted to work with a county soccer program for autistic children. Their next project may be working with female veterans living at the VA hospital, and possibly getting them on golfing outings in the spring.
• Whiz Kid's Key to Awesomeness: "They're unbelievable," said Colleen Pine, Allison's mother and a troop leader or co-leader for the girls since they were five years old. The girls are way beyond their (service) hours. They are truly good deed doers. If I have anything for them to do, they say, 'Sign me up.'"