Fourteen girls from Reading affected by the May 21 tornado received special attention Friday and Saturday by the Girls Scouts in Emporia.
Susan Faler, membership/volunteer services manager for Girl Scouts of the Kansas Heartland in Emporia, came up with an idea to allow girls from Reading to get away from the trauma and be pampered overnight Friday and all day Saturday.
For those 14 girls who came to the slumber party at the Amend Girl Scout Center, it was a time to do crafts, play miniature golf, watch movies and just hang out with friends. Since the building also has showers, some of the girls who didn’t have running water in Reading had the opportunity to take a hot shower, Faler said.
Faler came up with the idea when she was watching coverage of the Joplin tornado. She wondered what parents do with children following a tornado during the clean-up process.
“It’s not safe and it’s traumatic for them,” Faler said.
She came up with the idea of having a slumber party for the girls and providing them with a safe haven for an evening and the next day. One of the things she didn’t expect is how tired the girls were when they arrived Friday evening.
“They were really tired,” she said.
Supplies for the sleepover were donated. Some of the girls who came in with nothing, thanks to donations, received clothes and sleeping bags. Each girl that attended also received clothing, a bag with several items, stuffed animals and other items that were donated from the Emporia area and other areas around the state. While health kits were provided to the girls, they wanted to go beyond just toothpaste and shampoo, Faler said. So items such as decorated sandals, hair bows, coloring books and a wealth of other items were donated and given to the girls.
Faler said the girls and the parents were so grateful for the event.
“Girl Scouts is here for the girls and their families,” Faler said, adding that even girls that weren’t in Girl Scouts were allowed to go to the event Friday and Saturday. “They are so grateful. Hopefully when these girls grow up they will remember that Girl Scouts was here for them and do the same for others.”