Connections News for Girl Scouts of San Jacinto Council supporters Spring 2025
Calling All Adventurers!
Overnight and day camp sessions are still available. Let your child spend the summer learning new skills and making friends. Find out more at www.gssjc.org/summercamp. Or, help send a girl to camp by donating to camperships. Contact sthraen@sjgs.org.
Camp Robinwood Celebrates 75 years Camp Robinwood, a beautiful, wooded property in Willis, is a beloved campsite for many girls in our council. In December, they joined our council in celebrating the camp’s 75th anniversary. More than 300 Girl Scouts, along with their families and friends, gathered to recognize the camp’s contributions to our community and to honor its rich history. During the celebration, attendees participated in an exciting Dutch oven cook-off and engaged in fun, interactive history workshops. They also hiked across the property, making stops along the way to learn about the camp’s history, including the contributions of the four men who made this camp a reality for all Girl Scouts. In the 1940s, the number of African American Girl Scouts in our community was growing, but the closest camp available for them was in Oklahoma. This situation changed when four prominent African American men–Clarence A. Dupree, James Hudson Jemison, Hobart T. Taylor Sr., and Carter Walker Wesley–recognized the need for a camp that would provide African American girls with opportunities to experience the outdoors. These men were well-known for their contributions to the African American community in Houston. In 1948, they donated half the necessary funds to purchase 206 acres of farmland in Willis, Texas. They then initiated a public fundraising campaign to raise the remaining $8,240 needed to buy the property. In June 1949, they presented a deed to the Houston and Harris County Girl Scouts, which states, “No Girl Scout shall ever be denied use of said property because of her race, color, or creed.” Over the decades, Camp Robinwood has become a favorite destination for many Girl Scouts in our council. It was a joy to celebrate this significant milestone and to share the camp’s historical importance. We look forward to our girls creating many more years of memories there. If you ever visit Camp Robinwood, please be sure to check out the monument dedicated to the “Heroes of Camp Robinwood.”