Reflecting on Girl Scouts Thinking Day 2024

Troop 569 Leaders and Girl Scouts

There’s strength in the unity of Girl Scouts around the globe, and on World Thinking Day, celebrated every February 22, sisterhood is honored. The day, of course, is about more than just thinking. It’s about taking action, knowing that every girl has the power to make a positive impact on her world.

Girl Scout Troop 569, sponsored by the Buddhist Church of Sacramento, took part in this celebration on March 15, 2024, by hosting their annual Thinking Day which helps develop global awareness within each girl scout.

This year the event highlighted four young women who graduated from our program. Each shared their life travel experiences and lessons learned from a country that made a huge impact in their life. The four Thinking Day speakers and their respective countries included:

Jaime Hattori (Japan) – She spent a year after college graduation volunteering and working in small farming towns across Japan, learning to farm and care for farm animals to support family-run businesses.

Erin Lew (Mongolia) – She joined the Peace Corps as a volunteer and was an English teacher at the 12-year secondary school of Guchin-Us town, Ovorkhangai, Mongolia for a little over two years.

Alison Yamamoto (France) – After high school graduation, she moved to the Champagne region of France for two years to pursue her dual Bachelor of Arts degree between Sciences Po (France) and Columbia University (New York).

Olivia Wong (USA) – After graduating from UC Davis in 2018, she worked with the Sacramento Kings in 2019 and was admitted to the Master of Fine Arts Program at the USC School of Cinematic Arts in 2020, pursuing her lifelong dream of filmmaking. She started her own production company, OWong Productions, with the intention of enacting positive social change in the world through highlighting the stories of underrepresented groups of people.

A key theme resonated with the speakers - each one credited the Girl Scouts for being significant in their life’s journey.

Commemorating 125th Anniversary and Troop 569 establishment in 1992

Commemorating 125 and 32 years together

This year’s Thinking Day was extra special as the program also commemorated two major milestones: the 125th Anniversary of the Buddhist Church of Sacramento and the establishment of Troop 569 in 1992 along with its 30th year anniversary milestone, missed in 2022 due to the pandemic. Girl Scout Leader Rev. Patti Oshita said, “It has been an honor for Girl Scout Troop 569 to be under the sponsorship of the Buddhist Church of Sacramento for 32 of the Temple's 125-year history.”

In 1992, Rev. Patti was asked to be a Troop leader, an honor which she gladly accepted.  From the humble beginnings of having seven Girl Scouts in the troop, Rev. Patti had no expectations of what it would become. Instead, she simply enjoyed watching the young scouts grow within the program. With challenges, they learned how to organize and plan, work together to overcome obstacles, and grow more confident in their abilities.  

As the scouts aged out of the program, Rev. Patti saw more and more how much this program has provided guidance and developed leadership within young girls who were now young women, some returning to be leaders of their daughter’s troop. She recognizes that all along, it has been the many volunteer leaders and the participating scouts who have been the heart of our program. “Their dedication and enthusiasm continue to give this program its incredible vitality,” said Rev. Patti. In working together, the scouts learn to care about and think of others, while developing leadership and public speaking skills that will help them excel throughout their lives.

Rev. Patti proudly stated, “If I had expectations of this program 32 years ago, they definitely have been exceeded.”

Thank you to Rev. Patti and her leadership team for their dedication to Girl Scout Troop 569 and for building and maintaining a wonderful program offered through the Buddhist Church of Sacramento.