HOMETOWN HEROES: Martha Duffy of Peterborough honored for her efforts with Girl Scout Troop 63145

Martha Duffy of Peterborough started a Daisy and Brownie Girl Scout troop for a simple reason.

“My daughter (Kiki) wanted to do it, and Peterborough didn’t have a group for the younger kids,” she said.

That group, which is now Troop 63145 in Peterborough, started with six girls in December 2022, grew to eight by the end of the first year and is now at its maximum of 20. Its membership includes girls from kindergarten through fourth grade with Daisy, Brownie and Junior levels. Kiki is now 10, and just bridged to Junior level. Daughter Maddy, 8, is a Brownie, and 5-year-old Josie will be joining the Daisies in the fall.

For her efforts leading the troop – along with co-leader Stephanie Ruoff – Duffy is the Monadnock Ledger-Transcript’s Hometown Hero for May.

“She is an outstanding Girl Scout troop leader who not only leads a troop of 20 girls … she completed training for CPR and first aid, basic outdoor living skills, new leader cookie training and Positive Behavior Interactions and Supports – a mental heath course,” wrote Ginger Kozlowski, who nominated Duffy on behalf of the Girl Scouts of the Green and White Mountains. “She helps at service unit meetings where she provides innovative ideas and offers of help. Her troop has gone on many adventures and the girls are excited and engaged. She’s helped with cookie sales, field day and World Thinking Day. Girl Scouts of the Green and White Mountains recently honored her with its New Found Treasure award.”

Troop 63145 first met at Peterborough Town Library, but quickly outgrew the space. Now the group meets at Shieling Forest in Peterborough, which provides the girls with indoor and outdoor options, including helping with cleanup after the winter. Recently, the girls earned their Trail Adventure badges for trail-running and preparing for a hike.

“We haven’t gotten into camping yet, so this was a first step toward that,” Duffy said.

To earn their Craft and Tinker badges, the girls used Legos donated by the library to make ornaments for a tree that was part of Holiday Trees in Peterborough.

“The girls had a super-fun time making the ornaments, and then got to show their families what they had done,” Duffy said.

For World Thinking Day, troops pick a country to make a presentation.

“We picked Germany, and then we connected with the German Club at the high school,” where the girls attended a meeting at ConVal High School and learned some German from club members, Duffy said.

All activities throughout the year are funded through the troop’s cookie sales. Duffy stated that two girls sold more than 1,000 packages each this year, as well as completing the 50 State Cookie Challenge, where they sell to someone in each of the 50 states.

The troop generally has its first meeting of the year in late September or early October and meets twice a month until late June. Duffy said they did one summer event last year, but they typically take summers off because it’s hard to get everyone together.

Regarding the growth of the troop, Duffy said there is a lot of interest in Girl Scouts from families – more than they have space for – and the girls themselves help spread the word.

“The girls are good recruiters,” she said.

With the troop comes connections, not just between the girls, but between Duffy and the girls, their families and the community.

“It’s been really cool to see friendships form,” Duffy said.

Duffy, a 38-year-old photographer, said Girl Scouts has provides her family with opportunities they never would have come across and that she wishes they could do everything they want to do.

“I feel like Girl Scouts is always on the back of my mind,” she said.