Early this week, Luna Park presented $51,233 to the Mayor’s Fund for the City of New York to support Girl Scouts of Greater New York (GSGNY) Troop 6000.
For the first time in the park’s history, admission to Luna Park on March 24, the 2018 Opening Day, was free with a $5 donation to the park’s partner charity, The Mayor’s Fund to Advance NYC. In a special ceremony on July 23, the park donated 90 percent of the proceeds from the event to the Mayor’s fund, which is directly supporting the Girl Scout troop.
Launched by the GSGNY in 2017, Troop 6000 serves young girls living in NYC’s homeless shelters. Troop 6000 meets weekly in shelters across the city, and is led by women also living in the shelter system, community volunteers, and shelter staff members.
“Girl Scouting showed me that I shouldn’t be ashamed of who I am, what I look like, or where I live, and that homelessness does not define me,” Karina, a Troop 6000 Girl Scout from Queens, told the Queens Gazette. “Troop 6000 taught me about sisterhood, how to be courageous and how to advocate for girls just like myself.”
Thanks to generous support from the NYC Department of Homeless Services, the Mayor’s Fund for the City of New York, and private supporters, Troop 6000 has since expanded to sites in all five boroughs, and is on track to serve an additional 500 girls and women per year over the next three years.
“We can’t overstate the impact Girl Scouting has had on girls who have had the opportunity to join Troop 6000,” said Meridith Maskara, CEO of Girl Scouts of Greater New York. “We are grateful to the Mayor’s Fund, the City of New York, and the patrons of Luna Park for all their support, which will help us bring this program to more girls.”
