Whitewater Girl Scout Troop Donates Cookies to Labor and Delivery Nurses

Pictured left to right: Deb Schumacher (Manager, OB), Abigail Rhodes (Girl Scout Troop 7639), Carla Bilgrien (RN, OB), Taylor Masek (RN, OB and IPS), Mary Gronholz (RN, OB)

Whitewater Girl Scout Troop 7639 donated several boxes of cookies to Fort HealthCare’s Obstetrics Clinic on Wednesday, May 10th, as a thank you for all the work Obstetrics does for our community.

As part of its mission of service, Girl Scout Troop 7639 donates a portion of its funds to providing cookies to local nonprofits. In past years the Troop has donated to a single charity, but this year Troop Leaders recognized that they are old enough to choose their own cause. At the beginning of the season, each Scout chose an organization to be included in their donations. Abigail Rhodes chose Fort HealthCare’s labor and delivery nurses.

Last year, Abbie participated in Frosty Rock with her mother, Stephanie Rhodes, who is a CMA at the Center for Women’s Health, and her clinic. During the race, Christine Chuppa, MD, a long-time Obstetrician and Gynecologist at the Center, made such an impression on Abbie that she chose Fort HealthCare’s Obstetrics team as her cause. Her mother adds that Abbie said the nurses deserve cookies for all they do.

Abbie was her Troop’s top seller during this year’s cookie drive, selling 2,500 boxes of cookies. She spent a total of 32 hours selling cookies at booths set up in retail stores and by selling door to door. Abbie, a 4th grader at Washington Elementary in Whitewater, has been a Girl Scout since she was in kindergarten as a Daisy Girl Scout. She is now a Junior Girl Scout.

The Girl Scouts participate in community service projects and Take Action projects that teach them leadership skills and show them the importance of giving back to the community. As part of their mission of service, Troop 7639 is donating a buddy bench to Lincoln Elementary in Whitewater. A buddy bench is a bench installed at an elementary school, that when a student sits on it, communicates to the other students that they are lonely and looking for a buddy. It signals to the other children they should invite the student to play. Buddy benches promote empathy and inclusivity and remind children to check in on their peers while encouraging children to be outgoing and meet and make new friends.

“We have a great troop of girls,” says Stephanie, who is a Troop Leader. “They’re really focused on giving back. They take what they learn and use it to empower the community. They’re all so sweet.”

“The OB staff is very grateful to Abigail and her troop for their donation of treats and is impressed with this young lady,” says Deborah Schumacher, who manages Fort HealthCare Obstetrics. “We encouraged her to think about being an OB nurse. She thinks she wants to be a vet, though—which is pretty cool, too.”