BALTIMORE — Rowan Pepper shows off her Girl Scout vest, every square inch of it covered with badges. It's so packed, she added a second layer, almost like a cape, to the vest, which is also nearly full of badges.
Quite a few of them represent the hours of volunteer work she has done with Troop 823.
"It's always good to help either people or animals in need," she said.
Pepper is one of eight high school girls in Troop 823, led by her mom, Kimberlee Paine-Pepper.
"My girls are always willing to help, they love volunteering," said Paine-Pepper.
She has created a rotation of charities for the girls to do their volunteer work and they do an act of service at least once a month.
"I try to give the girls variety so they can see there are many ways to volunteer in the community."
One of the girls' favorite charities is Ronald McDonald House, where they cook and serve meals.
"We all get to work together making the food," said Eleanor Knuth. "It’s such a nice community there, everyone is so nice and the people are always grateful."
"If you’re having a bad day you go to Ronald McDonald House and give another person a better experience," said Sofia Solomonides.
The girls also volunteer at Hunger Free York, the Baltimore Humane Society, Our Daily Bread and First Fruits Farm.
Ashrita Anand, a troop member, says the volunteer work allows her to gain new experiences and skills she might not otherwise get outside of Girl Scouts.
"It teaches us empathy as well as gives us experience with social interaction," she said.
With each life lesson gained through volunteering, the leaders of Troop 823 hope the girls use those lessons beyond the Scouts.
"It is nice to see how they’ve grown and how they really truly love doing it," said Paine-Pepper.
"They can build on that confidence and know that it does make a difference to show up everyday and try to help somebody else," said Jes Maawinkel, co-leader of the troop.
