Wednesday, November 10, 1999
Girl Scout alternative
American Heritage group grows to 1,000 in area and sees a westward expansion
BY JULIE IRWIN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Angie Schoeny, 9, says the Pledge of Allegiance with other American Heritage troops.
(Yoni Pozner photo)
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The girls of American Heritage Girls Troop 40 spend their Thursday afternoon working on clay pinch pots in a sun-drenched classroom at St. Therese Little Flower School in Mount Airy. Downstairs, another troop is studying bike safety and mechanics to prepare for bicycle badges.
The time they spend publicly dwelling on God is limited to a brief prayer and their oath, recited outside during a flag ceremony. But the founders and leaders say God — and family, and country — are the reasons the American Heritage Girls exist, and perhaps the reason they are growing so fast as well.
Founded just five years ago by a group of West Chester women, the American Heritage Girls went national last month when Troop 158 in Santa Rosa, Calif., held its first official meeting. AHG is looking to expand to regional cities such as Dayton, Indianapolis, Columbus and Louisville, and it finally has a paid staff member to complement the hundreds of volunteer hours that keep the organization running.
And it's growing rapidly in the Tristate. From a total of about 30 five years ago, AHG has roughly 1,000 girls in about 75 troops spread across Hamilton, Warren, Butler, Clermont, Dearborn and Ripley counties. Leaders say they've fielded inquiries from people in every U.S. state, except Alaska and Hawaii, interested in starting up their own American Heritage Girls troop.
“When we started five years ago, we never really thought in five years we'd go national. We just wanted to create a quality program for our daughters,” says Carolyn Moore of Montgomery, who serves as national growth director on a volunteer basis. “But we have stacks and stacks of letters from people wanting to know about our program.”
Many of AHG's activities are recognizable to scouts everywhere. Girls can earn from the 45 available badges, with categories that emphasize heritage, family living, the arts, the outdoors, and science and technology. They camp and march in parades and sing Christmas carols. Service projects are a big part of the program: everything from collecting hygeine items for homeless shelters to raking leaves for the elderly to baking cookies for prisoners.
Many of AHG's members and leaders are former active Girl Scouts
who decided to leave after a 1993 policy change. The change, which was voted on and approved at a national convention, allowed Girl Scouts to substitute something else for the word “God” in the Girl Scout oath.
“Basically it was that people at an event who weren't Christian could use any word that's most appropriate to them. It's not that we took (the word) out as much as we opened up the parameters,” says Judy Welage, spokeswoman for the Girl Scouts U.S.A. “The United States is a very open country. We come from all over, from all religious backgrounds, and we need to be respectful.”
It was a change that dismayed some. A local group quickly channeled their dismay into the nascent AHG organization.
“What that (change) allowed girls and leaders to do is to use the word God or substitute another word or nothing for God, and that to us was philosophically a big change, almost corrosive,” says Patty Garibay, the founder who now serves as executive director and the group's first paid staffer. “Basically we've created an alternative for Cincinnati families to whom that's still important.”
Although most American Heritage Girls are Christian, reflecting the Tristate's demographics, membership is open to girls of other faiths. The members come from many denominations and include public-school students, Catholic-school students, Christian-school students and home-schoolers. The religious diversity is important to leaders.
“People say, "Why are you God-centered instead of Christ-centered?” We feel it encompasses more people of faith and gives us the opportunity to reach out to people who are searching,” Mrs. Moore says.
Pam Danelz of Santa Rosa liked AHG's philosophy when a friend first told her about the organization a few years ago. She began corresponding with Mrs. Moore, who told her the group wasn't ready to go national yet.
After looking at other organizations, Mrs. Danelz decided she liked AHG best and kept in contact with its leaders. She finally came to Cincinnati in August for training, and she founded the first AHG troop outside of the Tristate in October.
“I liked what they had to say in reference to their commitment to keeping the organization centered on God and country,” says Mrs. Danelz, whose 9-year-old daughter Sarabeth is an American Heritage Girl. “It gives another choice for people who have a relationship with God in life as a high priority.”
Charlene Rack of Mount Airy echoes Mrs. Danelz's opinions. She was in training to become a Girl Scout leader when she heard about American Heritage Girls five years ago. She attended a meeting and came away convinced that this was an organization for her and her daughters. Little Flower now has five AHG troops that span six grades.
“You're not used to having an option, and all of a sudden we had an option,” says Mrs. Rack, whose daughters Katie, 10, and Jen, 9, are members. “The religious aspect, the patriotism, the heritage — it's just a lot of things I stand for and believe in. I just fell in love.”
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