To the Editor:

The members of Girl Scout Troop 70660 would like to thank the local businesses and members of the community who came together on Saturday, June 15 to participate in the kick-off day of our Downtown Princeton Scavenger Hunt. The day was a huge success, and helped the 11 fifth-graders in the troop in their Bronze Award, the highest award that can be achieved at the Junior level of Girl Scouts.

The troop designed and implemented a scavenger hunt in downtown Princeton, geared to preschool and elementary school children and their parents. This was inspired by their completion of the Detective and Business Owner badges this past year. As part of the requirements for the Business Owner badge, the troop met with Joanne Farrugia, the owner of JaZams, who discussed some of the privileges and challenges faced by local business owners. Based on this experience, the girls in the troop decided to create a scavenger hunt to encourage people to visit downtown Princeton and perhaps discover local stores and businesses that they hadn’t visited before.

The scavenger hunt itself can be done any time, since each clue leads to a permanent landmark in downtown Princeton. Families can pick up a copy of the hunt from the desk of the children’s department on the third floor of the Princeton Public Library. All children who complete the hunt will receive a special button designed by members of the troop.

For the kick-off event on June 15, participants also had the opportunity to visit ten local businesses located along the route of the hunt, including Princeton Soup & Sandwich, Olsson’s, Nassau Inn, PNC Bank, Iano’s Rosticceria, Small World Coffee, La Jolie, Savory Spice Shop, Hinkson’s: The Office Store, and JaZams. The businesses offered hunt participants free samples, discounts, and coupons. At JaZams in particular, each child received a small prize of a toy, and the first 25 participants received a $5 gift certificate. These donations helped make the kick-off event a big success.

In addition to thanking the business owners and employees of these businesses, we would also like to acknowledge the help of Fran McManus of the Princeton Merchants’ Association, who advised us in the early stages of the project, and Aaron Pickett of the Princeton Public Library. The library was the starting location for the hunt on kick-off day, and it will continue to keep copies of the hunt on file so that people can do it any time.

The girls of Troop 70660 really enjoyed the process of planning and implementing the hunt, and they spent a great deal of time and energy on this project. We thank the local businesses who partnered with us, and the members of the local community who came out to support us by participating in the kick-off event.

Patty Berhau, Martha Easton

Co-Leaders, Troop 70660, Princeton Service