Troop 38G out of Saint Ann Catholic Church on Northway Road is the first all-girl Scouts BSA Troop of the Susquehanna Council in Loyalsock after the addition of girls into The Boy Scouts of America on Feb. 1, 2019.

The girls were allowed to participate in Cub Scouts but not Boy Scout Troops prior to that date, according to Butch McCuster, troop committee member and advancement chair.

The Troop 38 Leadership Committee started the troop the same day as the girls were allowed into the BSA.

“We got all of the applications in so we could start the unit when it was possible to do that,” Scoutmaster Peg Bird said.

Many of the girls in the troop had older brothers that were Eagle Scouts and were familiar with the program, according to Bird.

The program needed at least five members to be a unit and today they have seven members.

“The girls are excited about the program,” she added. “Other girls in the community were excited and came on to our troop and we started from there.”

Bird added that Troop 38G is a linked troop with the Troop 38B, an all-boys Scouts BSA Troop, and the Pack 38 of Cub Scouts. The troops do not have any differences in programming and the all-girls Troop does everything that the boys Troop does, explained Bird.

“They follow the same program that the boys do,” she added. “The program is built upon various things; community service, rank advancements, leadership and skills. Now, the girls have the opportunity.”

Together, the entirety of Troop 38 and Pack 38 will occasionally do joint events like the food drive that the Scouts conduct in the fall.

This most recent drive gathered enough food to distribute to the food bank along with three local churches.

“When we see a need for the community, we try and help out,” Bird said.