Iowa Girl Scouts Troop 535 is building confidence, character, and culture

Troop 535 is the first official bilingual group of Girl Scouts in Iowa. Here’s how the girls are building a sense of culture and community within their troop.

A group of Girl Scouts in Central Iowa is expanding on its core mission of building confidence, character, and courage by adding another “c” into the mix: culture. Troop 535 has become the state’s first official bilingual troop, and while they’re the only Girl Scouts who currently hold this distinction in Iowa, they don’t plan on being the last.

According to a Facebook post from the Girl Scouts of Greater Iowa (GSGI), Spanish is the first language of approximately 80% of the girls in Troop 535. GSGI said that it was intentional about connecting families who don’t speak English as their first language in an effort to make them feel more comfortable within this community. Speaking with KCCI Des Moines, Marlu Abarca, who is the troop leader for 535, said, “I think the parents, especially, feel very comfortable being able to express themselves in their own language.” She added, “It allows them to engage more with their girls’ lives and their activities.”

Abarca understands the importance of this more than most, as Spanish is her first language as well. She believes that creating this group will help not only with representation, but with helping the girls “see someone their same age who also has parents who speak Spanish at home,” which will “normalize it for them.”

Troop 535 is hoping to inspire other groups

As of writing, there’s a waitlist to join Troop 535, but Marlu Abarca and the Girl Scouts of Greater Iowa are working hard to ensure that Spanish speaking girls can access other opportunities to help represent their culture and build their communities. Abarca told KCCI Des Moines that she’s spoken with other local troop leaders who have expressed interest in creating bilingual groups. Plus, GSGI is set to offer a single-day program in Marshalltown, as well as a few scheduled events throughout Des Moines, to create short-term opportunities for bilingual outreach.

Click here to stay up-to-date on the bilingual GSGI events taking place in Iowa. You can also use the organization’s “Find A Troop” tool here to help locate a Girl Scouts group in your area.

Related: Iowa Democrats’ Latino Outreach Far More Meaningful This Year