They live in shelters. They earn badges by helping migrants. Meet NYC鈥檚 Girl Scouts.
| New York
Once a week in a midtown Manhattan hotel, dozens of Girl Scouts gather in a spare room made homey by string lights and children鈥檚 drawings. They earn badges, go on field trips to the Statue of Liberty, and learn how to navigate the subway in a city most have just begun to call home.
They are the newest members of New York City鈥檚 largest Girl Scout troop. And they live in an emergency shelter where 170,000 asylum seekers and migrants, including tens of thousands of children, have arrived from the southern border since the spring of 2022.
As government officials debate how to handle the influx of new arrivals, the Girl Scouts 鈥� whose Troop 6000 has served kids who live in the shelter system since 2017 鈥� are quietly welcoming hundreds of the city鈥檚 youngest new residents with the support of donations. Most of the girls have fled dire conditions in South and Central America and endured an arduous journey to the United States.
Not everybody is happy about the evolution of Troop 6000. With anti-immigrant rhetoric on the rise and a contentious election ahead, some donors see the Girl Scouts as wading too readily into politically controversial waters. That hasn鈥檛 fazed the group 鈥� or their small army of philanthropic supporters. Amid city budget cuts and a growing need for services, they are among dozens of charities that say their support for all New Yorkers, including newcomers, is more important than ever.
鈥淚f it has to do with young girls in New York City, then it鈥檚 not political,鈥� said Meridith Maskara, CEO of the Girl Scouts of Greater New York. 鈥淚t鈥檚 our job.鈥�
While Troop 6000 has found plenty of sympathetic supporters, 鈥渢here are some donors who would prefer their dollars go elsewhere,鈥� says Ms. Maskara. 鈥淚 am constantly being asked: Don鈥檛 you find this a little too political?鈥�
鈥榃ho鈥檚 gonna give us a chance?鈥�
Last year, Troop 6000 opened its newest branch at a hotel-turned-shelter in Midtown Manhattan, one of several city-funded relief centers for migrants. Though hundreds of families sleep at the shelter every night, the Girl Scouts is the only children鈥檚 program offered.
Perhaps that鈥檚 what鈥檚 made the troop so popular.
Last January, the group began recruiting at the shelter and rolled out a bilingual curriculum to help scouts learn more about New York City through its monuments, subway system, and political borders.
One year later, with nearly 200 members and five parents as troop leaders, the shelter is the largest of Troop 6000鈥檚 roughly two dozen sites across the city and the only one exclusively for asylum-seekers.
With few other after-school opportunities available, the girls are 鈥渟o hungry for more鈥� ways to get involved, says Giselle Burgess, senior director of the Girl Scouts of New York鈥檚 Troop 6000.
Seven years ago, Ms. Burgess, a single mother of six, built Troop 6000 from the ground up after losing her rental home to developers. While living in a hotel-turned-shelter, she got the idea of creating a troop for girls like her daughters. It was the height of 鈥淣IMBYism,鈥� she says, the not-in-my-backyard movement opposed to local homeless shelters.
At the time, she asked: 鈥淲ho鈥檚 gonna give us a chance?鈥�
As it turns out, 鈥渢he donations started pouring in,鈥� she says. A New York Times profile led to a groundswell of philanthropy 鈥� plus tens of thousands of dollars in cookie sales 鈥� that helped the group grow from seven girls at a shelter in Queens to more than 2,500 scouts and troop leaders at over 20 temporary housing sites across the city.
So, when the mayor鈥檚 office floated the idea of starting a troop at the Midtown shelter, the Girl Scouts were ready.
鈥淲e already had a model that has really proven to work,鈥� says Ms. Maskara, who raised about $400,000 in an emergency campaign from Trinity Church Wall Street Philanthropies, the Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation, and the Steven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation.
Troop 6000 employs bilingual social workers and a transition specialist versed in supporting children who鈥檝e experienced trauma. But otherwise, it operates much like any other Girl Scout troop.
Most importantly, says Ms. Maskara, the troop offers a glimmer of consistency to children who often must pack up, move homes, and switch schools in the middle of the academic year. Scouts are encouraged to continue participating even when their families move.
That hasn鈥檛 been easy at the Midtown shelter. The average length of stay for a family in the city鈥檚 homeless shelter system is a year and a half; in an emergency shelter, it鈥檚 often mere months. At least 40 families have been evicted from the Midtown shelter since January.
鈥淜eeping the girls connected is what matters the most for us right now,鈥� says Ms. Burgess. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of emotion, frustration, and hurt.鈥� Around 50 scouts who have left the shelter participate in a virtual troop.
鈥淲e want to be able to encourage the girls and let them know it鈥檚 not over,鈥� she says. 鈥淲e鈥檙e still here.鈥�
Philanthropy steps in
New York City has spent billions on the asylum seekers while buckling under the pressure of an existing housing and affordability crisis. That鈥檚 left little time to court and coordinate the city鈥檚 major philanthropies.
鈥淚t鈥檚 very hard to take a step back when you鈥檙e drinking out of a fire hose,鈥� says Beatriz de la Torre, chief philanthropy officer at Trinity Church Wall Street, which gave the Girl Scouts a $100,000 emergency grant 鈥� plus $150,000 in annual support 鈥� to help expand Troop 6000.
With or without government directives, she says, charities are feeling the crunch: Food banks need more food. Legal clinics need more lawyers.
Since asylum-seekers began arriving to the city, around 30 local grantmakers, including Trinity Church and Brooklyn Org, have met at least biweekly to discuss the increased demands on their grantees.
Together, they鈥檝e provided over $25 million for charities serving asylum seekers, from free legal assistance to resources for navigating the public school system.
鈥淚t鈥檚 hard for the government to be that nimble 鈥� that鈥檚 a great place for nonprofits and philanthropy,鈥� says Eve Stotland, senior program officer at New York Community Trust, which convenes the Working Group for New York鈥檚 Newcomers, and itself has distributed over $2.7 million in grants for recent immigrants.
鈥淭hese are our neighbors,鈥� says Ms. Stotland. 鈥淚f a funder鈥檚 goal is to make New York City a better place for everyone, that includes newcomers.鈥�
Political backlash
In a typical year, funding for immigrants makes up a 鈥渧ery, very small鈥� percentage of overall grantmaking, says Marissa Tirona, president of Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees, and funding for immigrants actually shrunk 11% from 2012 to 2020.
During an election year, services for immigrants might be even more at risk.
鈥淢igrant families are often used as political pawns,鈥� and some donors may succumb to anti-immigrant fear-mongering, says Ms. Tirona.
The Girl Scouts have not been immune to the backlash, nor is it the first time they鈥檝e shouldered criticism from conservative donors.
While Troop 6000 has not been deterred, Ms. Maskara says that many of her peers in the nonprofit world have been fearful to publicly support newcomers.
鈥淲hat holds them back is the appearance of being too progressive or too political,鈥� she says. 鈥淢y response to them is: You have no idea how many doors it will open.鈥�
This article was provided to The Associated Press by the Chronicle of Philanthropy as part of a partnership to cover philanthropy and nonprofits supported by the Lilly Endowment. The Chronicle is solely responsible for the content.
