By Tara DeRock Mahoney
Senior Staff Writer

The Girl Scouts have been busy.
   

The members of Junior Troop 103125, ranging in age from 11 to 13, have been busy making posters, flyers, and videos promoting their stuffed animal drive in honor of Taylor Kinchen, the six-year-old Morgan County girl who passed away from complications of brain and spinal tumors last January.
   

The Scouts, all of whom are middle school students this year, have worked in the middle school technology lab to make a video for each of the schools’ morning announcements; they’ve also e-mailed principals and met with school officials to get permission for their drive. “This is a good opportunity for us to learn how to organize a community service project,” said 13-year-old Megan Taylor, a member of the troop and director of the announcement video.
   

The girls will also use the project to earn their Bronze Award, a Scouting honor in which the girls must plan and execute a community project. Shelby and Kourtney Kinchen, the elder sisters of Taylor, are members of the troop and actively involved in the drive honoring their younger sibling.
   

The Girl Scouts invite all citizens of Morgan County to donate new stuffed animals for distribution to law enforcement and emergency personnel for local kids in crisis.
   

Participants can contribute by sending a new stuffed animal to school next week for collection, or by dropping off their stuffed animal at the offices of the Morgan County Citizen in Madison as soon as possible.