The author covers the lives of a single mother, her family, their struggles, and her role in founding a Girl Scout troop for homeless girls in New York City. I'm especially impressed by the mom and her daughters and how determined they are to make as good a life as possible for themselves and others.

An empowering nice read! Very comforting and inspiring! Identified also as a former Girl Scout. Strongly know this book will be a blessing to many!

***Book Review***
Thank you Netgalley and Random House/Ballantine Books for this advanced readers copy of Troop 6000, an inspiring true story of the first Girl Scout troop founded for and by girls living in a shelter in Queens, New York, and the amazing, nationwide response that it sparked.

Troop 6000 tells the story of Giselle, a single mother of five who suffers from epilepsy who one day finds her family homeless in New York City.

I am an ardent supporter of the Girl Scout program and I found myself nodding throughout this book as both the girls AND the adult volunteers found themself become progressively more confident and passionate about making the world a better place, despite the harrowing world of homelessness they live in.

What I am fortunate to not know about is homelessness. This book educated me about the growing homeless situation that NYC experiences, and the life of those trying to navigate the shelter system while trying to get on their feet again.

This is a fast, inspiring and educational read that I enjoyed. I highly recommend it, especially for those wanting to learn more about Girl Scouts and/or homelessness.

I received this book as an ARC, thanks to Random House & Netgalley. This review is my honest opinion of this book.

What an amazing and insightful book. This story follows Troop 6000, the Girl Scout troop for Girls in shelters in NYC. I had been introduced to this through the NY TIMES article on this topic and it was fascinating to learn more about the amazing people who made this happen. I didn’t know that Giselle, the founder of Troop 6000, was also homeless at the time of founding.

Girl scouting is such an important and valuable program and one of the things I love about it is the the philanthropic & community service that is at the core. I was a Girl Scout and believe that I learned valuable skills - and am proud to be an alum of an organization that is doing this amazing work to build up girls of all socioeconomic classes.

I highly recommend this book as an essay not just on girl scouting, but also on homelessness.

#Troop6000 #NetGalley
Girl Scouting began in the United States in March 1912.. Since then Girl Scouts have been instrumental in helping millions of girls explore their potential, take on leadership roles, seek challenges and learn from set backs, identify and solve problems in the community, while forming and maintaining healthy relationships. At the core of their existence is the intent to make the world a better place while respecting themselves and others. There is a high probability that a future president will one day talk of lessons she learned in scouting. Unfortunately membership and additional programs fees have presented many from joining. Fortunately this was not the case for Hailey and Karina Burgess. They were able to join a troop that subsidized their dues and special programs. This was only the start of a future that no one could have seen coming. Over time their mom became a troop leader and passionately committed to the cause. After losing her job in a dentist's office Giselle Burgess was lucky enough to get a job as a Community Development Specialist in Queens. The rest of her life was falling apart though and she was forced to move into a homeless center. While living there she worked tirelessly to make life as normal as possible for her family. But life in a shelter was filled with frustration, inhumanity and shame for the adults and children living there. Giselle Burgess decided that starting a Girl Scout troop at the shelter would help by giving the girls who joined a way to escape the day to day boredom. Author Nikita Stewert does an excellent job of sharing the often rocky adventure started with Troop 6000 at the Sleep Inn in Queens. We are there as the girls in the troop grow personally in ways that they, their families and parts of society never imagined possible. We are there as Giselle with the determination of her "girls" , support of her friends, family, other volunteers, members of the Girl Scout council, and at least one local community leader bring Troop 6000 to other homeless shelters.. This story is an inspiration to others and a reminder of how together we all can achieve more.

I recommend this book to anyone looking for a heart warming story of the power of love and community. I recommend this book to anyone wondering how we can begin to mend a broken system. I recommend this book to anyone who needs to be reminded that homeless people deserve better, they deserve to be respected as people first.

I was a Girl Scout for 15 years, served on my local council’s board of directors, and worked for the local council. Girl Scouts has been a big part of my life. I am sad to say I hadn’t heard this story before. I am really glad I got to read this. This book needs to be shared widespread so that everyone knows the impact Girl Scouts can have on young women. I loved hearing the girls and leaders stories. It’s and inspirational story about coming together through ups and downs, hardships, successes, wonderful young women, incredible parents, and loving leaders.

I was a Girl and Boy Scout for a brief stint. One of my best friends was a member of the cool scout society. She participated in amazing after-school activities, wore a vest full of earned patches and had a group of friends outside of our normal school buddies. When it came time for cookie season, I wanted in! Well it was short-lived because I ate more cookies than I sold, couldn't recite the oath on demand, was nowhere near outdoorsy and had no interest in making s'mores by a fire I should've helped build.

The same best friend invited me along on a camping trip the next summer. Her dad was the leader of a Boy Scout troop. I was game for the promise of sun, splashing in a lake, throwing darts and the shooting range with cute slightly older boys. I packed a super girly Strawberry Shortcake sleeping bag, blue gingham swimsuit and a book to read for the road. We were so excited on the way to camp and was good and hungry by the time we arrived and unpacked.

The boys pitched tents and started a campfire while my best friend and I settled into an indoor cabin. Silly me was expecting a restaurant-style dinner. Imagine my disappointment and disgust when I realized dinner was some kind of campfire hash with canned sardines and saltine crackers as an appetizer. At that point, I knew I wasn't going to make it a whole weekend as a Boy Scout. I went home the very next morning before the sun could even think about rising.

I have much respect for Girl Scouts. It is more than just a notion. It takes real commitment, dedication to service and a strong community. It is an honor and a lifelong membership. So I was super excited to see a new book to be released about the true story of Troop 6000: The Girl Scout Troop That Began in a Shelter and Inspired the World.

Giselle Burgess was a young mother of five when life hit her hard. Even though she had a full -time job, the steadily increasing rent and mounting bills made her fall behind and an eviction soon followed. She entered the New York City's shelter system. The family of six lived in a single hotel-like room with only two beds and one bathroom for nearly a year.

In an attempt to help her daughters and other girls living in the shelter, Giselle found a way for them to not feel shame of being homeless. They could develop skills, form friendships, and serve the community while at it. She established the Girl Scouts of Greater New York Troop 6000 in the homeless shelter. In time, it expanded from one shelter to fifteen in NYC and more around the United States. Around this time in 2017, homelessness had increased in the country. Journalist, Nikita Stewart, followed Troop 6000 for more than a year and witnessed the success, challenges, highs and lows of this unique group of girls, passionate leaders and dedicated parents.

Unlike my own scouting experience, the true story of Troop 6000 is so joyful and is a reminder of how something great manifests when we come together for a common goal and purpose. The level of support is admirable. I am glad that Nikita Stewart used her journalistic abilities to pen a book about such a good true story. And thank God for Giselle Burgess being a go-getter willing to share details of her life story. It is both inspiring and a pleasure to read.

Happy Early Pub Day, Nikita Stewart! Troop 6000 will be available Tuesday, May 19. In the meantime, tis the season to buy boxes of girl scout cookies! 🍪

LiteraryMarie

The inspiring true story of a homeless mother of five who started a Girl Scout troop in the shelter where she and her children lived. Stewart follows a year in the life of the troop, and uses that lens to tell a story of homelessness and extreme poverty in New York City and elsewhere. Good for general nonfiction readers, memoir enthusiasts, and those interested in social issues.