Piper Bulletin March 2010

Smaller Cars Influence Girl Scout Troop Size

Big Suburbans are going the way of the dinosaur. According to Tamara Woodbury, CEO of Girl Scouts – Arizona Cactus-Pine Council, the fact that more families are choosing smaller cars is reducing the size of Girl Scout troops.

"Smaller cars transport fewer girls to camp and on field trips," said Woodbury. "There just aren't as many vans and campers, so on average we see troops getting smaller even as the number of girls in Arizona Girl Scouting increases."

One challenge: Each troop has two volunteer leaders. More Scouts in more troops means finding even more parents and other volunteers to get involved.

Gardens to Bloom at St. Vincent de Paul

In a Piper Fellows meeting in the dog days of last summer, Fellows talked about creating a garden to benefit the families who come for meals at the Society of St. Vincent de Paul family dining center.

With some well-timed assistance, St. Vincent de Paul's Janice Ertl applied for and received a $1,000 grant from the Brethren Foundation, Inc., to do soil testing and make repairs to the existing irrigation. When the soil analysis turned up a drainage field that would prevent planting vegetables, the vision grew. Now, there will be both a fruit orchard and flower garden at the West Watkins site and a vegetable garden at 5th Avenue and the U.S. 10 frontage road.

"The orchard will beautify the property," said Ertl, clinic director, Virginia G. Piper Medical and Dental Clinic, "and we anticipate that it will add to family dining at Watkins, giving families exposure to fruits and vegetables whether they go home in a bag or have fresh food at the meal."

The project also is a finalist in a fruit tree give-away through REAP (Renew Earth And its People) and the The Fruit Tree Planting Foundation, together with Dreyer’s Ice Cream. It will be an online popularity contest so watch in the coming days for how you can cast your vote(s).

Greasepaint to Continue at Scottsdale Site

Greasepaint Youtheatre, winner of 18 local "ariZoni" awards and 10 National Youth Theatre Award citations, has completed deliberations with the city of Scottsdale to retain the theater's site in Scottsdale. With the slowed economy, the city has decided not to develop the property until after the new lease ends in 2014.

Under the wing of Phoenix Theatre, Greasepaint will now implement new marketing, technology and management strategies with a grant from Piper Trust to maintain its momentum .