My first experience with Girl Scouts was as a Brownie in Medina, Ohio where we did a lot of arts and crafts. Then my family moved to Glen Ellyn, IL, a suburb of Chicago, when I was in the 4th grade. Continuing with Girl Scouts at my new school made being the “new girl” and making friends a lot easier. The most impactful experience I had as a Girl Scout was when my troop went on a bike trip to clean up trash along our town’s bike path. When it was lunchtime we veered off the bike path and into a neighborhood I had never been to and we heard a low groaning sound but we couldn’t figure out where it was coming from. It sounded like someone was in pain and needed help so we broke into small groups and rode around frantically to find the source. We finally found a man trapped under a car – he had been doing some work underneath and the car had rolled onto his chest. He could barely breathe and his wife was inside watching television and could not hear his cries for help. We pounded on the door and when she answered we rushed inside with her to call an ambulance. The ambulance arrived within a few minutes along with a fire truck and it took several minutes for the firemen to lift the car up and pull the poor man out. When he was finally free he was gasping and crying and could not stop thanking us all for saving his life. When we realized that he could have died many of us started crying too. After the ambulance crew assured us that he would be okay and took him to the hospital, we jumped on our bikes and our troop leader led us to Baskin Robbins for ice cream. We were in shock but the ice cream helped calm our nerves and when we eventually rode home I remember feeling so proud of what we had done. That experience ignited in me a lifelong passion for helping people in need.
My Troop Saved a Man’s Life!
