All-Female Boy Scout Troop Donates Hair For Good Cause

By Brian M. Johnson, The Bristol Press

March 29, 2022

Members of the all-female Boy Scout Troop 1425 donated 54 inches of hair to Children with Hair Loss, a nonprofit which provides hair for wigs for children undergoing cancer treatment.

This past Saturday, members of Troop 1425 headed to the local Supercuts to trim off several inches of hair for children in need.

"Our troop plans on donating hair every year if we can," said Whitney Shackford, assistant scoutmaster for the troop. "We have a few scouts and leaders who were unable to donate this year and will be growing their hair out for next year, myself included."

Shackford said her 13-year-old daughter, Zoey Rupert, cut off 15 inches of hair.

"We have a wonderful group of young ladies in our troop," Troop Scoutmaster Quentin St. Germain said. "They are always thinking about how they can help others."

In Feb. 2019, the Boy Scouts of America welcomed girls to join as members. Troop 1425 was formed soon after and Rupert and her mother joined that same year. Today, the troop has nine members ages 11 to 16. Girls join when they are in sixth grade and remain with the troop until they are 18.

Some other activities Troop 1425 have participated in include overnight rock climbing at Prime Climb in Wallingford, archery, canoeing and kayaking, weekend camping and hiking trips. The troop also participated in a District First Aid meet this past December and took first place for Bristol.

The troop also regularly assists with food distributions at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, where they meet on Monday nights. They also made Christmas cards and Valentine’s Day cards for residents of local nursing homes.

St. Germain said future plans include a summer camp and a camping and hiking trip to historical trails throughout New England.

"I built the trip around teaching U.S. history," St. Germain said.

Shackford said being part of Boy Scout Troop 1425 has been a great experience for her daughter and the other troop members.

"It teaches them the importance of community service, teamwork and outdoor skills," Shackford said. "Things like first aid are a good set of skills to have – you never know when you're going to need them. The girls have all shown that they want to learn and grow. They show so much support for each other and push each other to try new things. A few of them were hesitant at first during the rock climbing but they encouraged each other and told them 'you got this.' I'm so proud of them."

Boy Scout Troop 1425 meets every Monday from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church at 355 Camp St. St. Germain said those interested in becoming new members are welcome to drop in.

"The Scouts are always looking to recruit new members and to educate other kids in the philosophies of doing the right thing in today's world," he said.

For more information, email troop1425bristol@gmail.com.

Brian M. Johnson can be reached at 860-973-1806 or bjohnson@bristolpress.com.