When one thinks of Marybeth Kennedy, almost instantly, the Girl Scouts come to mind. And it’s all for a good reason — for the last 20 years, she has lived and breathed everything Girl Scouts, and in particular, Kearny’s Troop 2771, which she founded.
The Scouts are noted in Kearny for their incredible service to the community — and we’ll get to that. But Kennedy, who has taken the girls on numerous outings, trips, activities, etc., knew for the troop’s 20th anniversary, it had to be something big. Something meaningful and memorable. And, a new way for all the girls involved to continue to grow and learn about being of service to others.
So where else would be better than by taking the girls to Washington, D.C.?
That’s exactly where Kennedy and her family and numerous Scouts and their families headed as June came to a close. What happened while they are at the nation’s capital was nothing short of spectacular, with many stops along the way. Perhaps none was more moving, though, as when several girls were permitted to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia.
“So over the years, after the regular Scouting season, we’ve tried to do something that gives the girls an opportunity to do something they may not get the chance to do on their own or with their families,” Kennedy said. “ … Over the years, we’ve taken them many times to Broadway to see different plays and we’ve taken them to Medieval Times. But we started off small. We did those kinds of things but slowly we have been trying to figure out what we could possibly do that was a little bit bigger.
“You know, they’re getting older and we really wanted to do something bigger. And with the 250th anniversary of the United States, we decided that we wanted to do something much larger and we chose Washington, D.C.”
Now while the trip certainly was meant to be fun and memorable, Kennedy has always instilled in her girls service. In fact, they are of service in Kearny and West Hudson often. But Kennedy says she wanted the girls to learn just how much more there is to the world than what they experience here.
“They help out, whether it’s just being part of going to a function that someone had, having a table or donating time to to help them run something — whether it’s you know going into Harrison and doing a cleanup or when they did a street fair or going into East Newark … getting them out there and getting them to realize that they can make a difference is a big thing for me.”
Visiting the nation’s capital certainly allowed for more of that that.
“And I want to teach them that they are our future and I want them to know that seeing a problem or seeing something that is an issue or something that comes up, I don’t want them to say ‘What can I do?’ I want them to be able to formulate a plan to be able to say, ‘This is what I’ve done and this is what I know can be done. So let’s get started.
“By going to Washington, we were able to show them were everything started.”
While the girls were in D.C., getting to lay the wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was extremely moving — and included leader Faith Kennedy — Mary Beth’s daughter — and cadette Lillian Gonzalez, ambassador Vanessa Costa and Junior Penelope Alves.
The wreath that was left at the tomb was a gift of Kearny American Legion Post No. 99.
“It was humbling,” Kennedy said. “It was humbling because when I explained to the girls what it was and why we were doing it and and what it entails and and the fact that you have to be so quiet and and so respectful, but there are almost no words unless you physically see it — even watching it over the computer — we watched it over the computer so they could see it before we were there. And it’s nothing like being there and experiencing it.”
Of course, there was so much more to the trip than just Arlington.
The girls were able to visit all of the major hotspots in Washington, D.C., including the Supreme Court, the Smithsonian, the Lincoln Memorial, the Washington Monument, the Holocaust Museum, the World War II Memorial, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial and many other spots. They also drove near the White House and the United States Capitol.
The generosity of the people of Kearny made this all happen
Overall, the four-day excursion cost all attendees just $50 per person. Because of the Scout’s tricky tray and the countless donations from the people of Kearny, all of this was possible at such an absurdly low cost. For Kennedy, saying “thank you” to the people of Kearny is just not enough.
“It’s always been about the generosity of the people of Kearny,” Kennedy said. “I really want to recognize all of the people who made it possible. The people are a true gift to all of us.”
A gift, they are, indeed.
Learn more about the writer ...
Kevin A. Canessa Jr. is the editor of and broadcaster at The Observer, an organization he has served since 2006. He is responsible for the editorial content of the newspaper and website, the production of the e-Newspaper, writing several stories per week (including the weekly editorial), conducting live broadcasts on social media channels such as YouTube, Facebook, and X, including a weekly recap of the news — and much more behind the scenes. Between 2006 and 2008, he introduced the newspaper to its first-ever blog — which included podcasts, audio and video. Originally from Jersey City, Kevin lived in Kearny until 2004, lived in Port St. Lucie. Florida, for four years until February 2016 and in March of that year, he moved back to Kearny to return to The Observer full time. Click Here to send Kevin an email.