Girl Scouts help make the world a better place - Can you?

The girls of Junior Girl Scout Troop #995 in Sparta are working toward their Bronze Award. They are committed to increase public environmental awareness, aid their community, and “Make the World a Better Place”; a part of the Girl Scout Law. They are asking people in the community to help save the environment by recycling your printer cartridges along with Girl Scout Troop #995. Other ways they are making the world a better place include the pet supply drive they ran during the 2005/06 school year. They delivered many bags of food and supplies for the pets at the Room for One More Shelter at 243 Sparta Avenue. To help Room for One More, you can go on the Web to : www.rfom.org or call 973-729-5225. From 2005 to present and for as long as it takes, the girls in Troop #995 have committed to grow their hair to donate to Locks of Love, a non-profit organization which collects hair to make wigs for financially disadvantaged children suffering from long term hair loss. Recently, two of the girls in Troop #995 were ready to donate their hair and each had 10 inches or more cut compliments of Ultima Hair Designers, 253 Newton Sparta Rd., Newton The experience was emotional but the girls and troop leader/s and parents are very proud for making the decision to help in this very special way. Through the process of creating a hairpiece, 8-10 ponytails are needed. (The retail value of one hairpiece is between $3,500 and $6,000, so it is a very generous donation on behalf of those donating hair and the Locks of Love organization.) A minimum of 10 inches of hair is needed for each donation since 2 inches of hair is lost in the manufacturing process for anchoring the individual hairs into the hairpiece. For more information, visit www.locksoflove.org While researching Locks of Love, the Troop became aware of another organization helping Locks of Love and other non-profit groups. The organization is called Charitable Recycling Ink. Through the organization, non-profit groups can recycle printer inkjet/toner cartridges for a monetary reimbursement toward the group’s programs. So, the Troop decided to begin an environmental awareness campaign and recycle print cartridges for the benefit of Girl Scout Troop outings and possible donations to Locks of Love towards hairpiece manufacturing costs. This is where everyone in our community and beyond can help: Millions of homes and businesses in the U.S. have computers with printers that use inkjet/toner cartridges. Eighty-six percent of these cartridges are dumped into landfills each year. Recycling these cartridges can reduce waste and preserve our environment. The money from these cartridges can produce revenue for many different charities to meet their financial needs. Girl Scout Troop #995 has initiated a cartridge recycling collection at the Mohawk Avenue School in Sparta for students and families to participate. Other families and businesses may contact Gail, Troop #995 Leader, for a pre-paid mailing box or envelopes to send your cartridges in for recycling. Call Gail at 201-704-0838 or e-mail: ggtea@hotmail.com and place G.S. Recycling on the subject line.