Medfield Girl Scouts Deliver Valentine’s Day Love to Women in Need

Believing that all women should have the chance to feel pretty, Medfield Girl Scout Troop 74900 held a Valentine’s Day party on Feb. 4, complete with lovely feminine gifts, for the Women’s Lunch Place (WLP), a safe, comfortable daytime shelter for Boston’s homeless and poor women.

After visiting the shelter last year, the girls saw how much these women wanted items to make them feel special and smell pretty. So they arrived at the party, armed with more than 300 individually wrapped gifts, including hand cream, perfume, earrings, necklaces, scarves and more. During this event – which was part of the Troop’s Share Our Service Saturdays program – the girls also played bingo and cards with the women and served them lunch with Valentine’s Day cake.

“Each of the ladies was so thrilled to have her own gift wrapped in red foil, and many of them shared stories from their own girl scouting days,” said Katherine Lyons, one of the troop’s adult volunteer guides. 

Collecting enough gifts was no easy task. To gather donations, the troop, which includes girls from sixth through 12th grade, held a Glamour Girls in Hollywood party, which required a donation for the Women’s Lunch Place event, and help wrapping some of the gifts.

The troop also collaborated with one of the girl’s brother’s boy scout troop, who brought donations to earn their Citizenship badges. The girls also asked for donations by putting flyers in their neighbors’ mailboxes and were rewarded with costume jewelry, hand cream, bath gel and more.

The women visiting WLP thoroughly enjoyed the party and were touched by the gesture.

“They especially appreciated the way [the girls] played bingo and were moved that [the girls] made sure everyone received a gift," said Sharon Reilly, executive director of the Women’s Lunch Place. "The troop’s presence took them to a time and place when they were happy and hopeful … that’s a gift that no amount of money can buy.”