About Us
St. Timothy Catholic Church's American Heritage Girls (AHG) Troop VA1148 was chartered on October 5, 2012. Our troop is an ecumenical mix of Catholic and non-Catholic Christians, home schooled, public schooled, and private schooled girls.
Program Overview
Below is an excerpt from www.americanheritagegirls.org website describing its six main emphases. For a detailed explanation of the program, please visit https://americanheritagegirls.org/program-overview/.
Described below are various ways VA1148 fulfills the above mentioned program emphases.
Faith
Girls have an opportunity to complete AHG badges focused on learning more about their faith and their relationship with God. Such badges include: Bible Basics, Identity, Women of Faith, and Daughter of the King. We also strive to offer special patch programming such as the Respect Life patch and patches that help the girls learn about various saints.
In 2020 American Heritage Girls published a new Faith Award program. There are two different programming tracks: The Catholic Faith Awards and the Build Your Faith Awards (B.Y. Faith Awards). The Catholic Faith Awards honor the AHG Creed, Oath, and Mission connecting what girls are learning in AHG with the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Since implementation, our troop has had girls completing segments of the Catholic Faith Awards at all levels. (At the Patriot level, the Catholic Faith Award studies inspiring saints and the Apostolic Letter Mulieris Dignitatem Of The Supreme Pontiff John Paul II On The Dignity And Vocation Of Women.)
Leadership
Troop leaders encourage leadership opportunities at all levels. As a girl progresses through the program, more leadership responsibilities are provided. For instance, a Tenderheart may be a line leader, prayer leader, material leader. An Explorer may be an in-unit squad leader and work on teaching various badge requirements to younger units or her unit peers; by her third year, she is able to help plan events such as the annual mother/daughter event. A Pioneer/Patriot can lead troop meetings, flag ceremonies, help plan troop events from start to finish (father-daughter dances, award ceremonies, etc.), plan and present badge requirements for badges worked on inside their unit, and mentor younger girl units by teaching/helping them to complete badges.
Citizenship (i.e. Service)
Our troop places great importance on serving those in our community. Annually, we participate in various service events and projects such as: the Back-to-School Supply Drive for SVdP, Honor Flight, Wreaths Across America, serving Lenten meals at our Charter Organization, and assisting the St. Lucy's Food pantry with sorting and organizing goods. Since the founding of the troop, the girls have participated in baking homemade Christmas cookies to the church’s food pantry each December; recently we have been able to distribute them during the pantry's distribution day.
Other service opportunities present themselves at Troop meetings or during Unit meeting times. The Troop has made sandwiches for a local drop-in homeless day shelter, older girls have ran service projects to make blankets for sick children, and units have made care bags for the USO, cards for hospitalized children, care bags for children who in various circumstances find themselves in the care of police officers.
Social & Emotional
VA1148 offers several events throughout the program year to support the social and emotional well being of the Troop members. These events foster relationships between girls in all levels, strengthen bonds between father/daughter and mother/daughter, and provides great opportunities for fun and fellowship! Events we've held include, but are not limited to: father-daughter dances, mother-daughter events, troop skate nights, ice cream and movie socials, campfire s'mores, and all day Trooporees.
Life Skills
Girls have the opportunity to learn various life skills through AHG badge programming. Badges are categorized into Frontiers. These six Frontiers include: Heritage, Family Living, Arts, Outdoor Skills, Personal Well-Being, and Science & Technology. Badge requirements advance as the girl moves from level to level and can be progressive. This means a girl can build upon her knowledge of a certain badge topic as she advances to the next level.
Outdoors
We continue to build our outdoor programming. Our girls are presented with opportunities to attend an annual AHG regional Camporee, two Troop campouts a year, and hiking opportunities. We currently have a knowledgeable Naturalist as an Adult Member; she brings enthusiasm and knowledge to Outdoor Skills badge work and nature hikes. These outdoor opportunities allow the girls to connect with nature and explore all of God's beauty and design. They also foster relationships as girls are able to relax together , have fun, and work on their outdoor skills and knowledge in the great outdoors!
(last updated 2/11/25)