MEDFORD, N.J. (WPVI) — Paid Sponsor Partnership: Philadelphia Corporation for Aging
Mary Ainsworth enjoys being where the girls are, whether it’s working with Girl Scout Troop 23030 on activities, or with other women she’s gathered into a group known as the Forever Girl Scouts.
“It’s all about having fun when we were kids, and it’s all about having fun now,” says Mary Ainsworth, Founder of the Forever Girl Scouts.
The criteria to join is simple.
“Have you ever been a Girl Scout? Have you ever been a Girl Scout mom? Have you ever had a grandchild in Girl Scouts?” asks Ainsworth. “Sometimes it even goes as far as, have you ever eaten a Girl Scout cookie?”
They get together about seven times a year at Medford Leas where they reside, located in Medford, New Jersey.
“It’s a very welcoming group. We have over 40 known former Girl Scouts here,” she says.
Ainsworth started scouts in fifth grade.
“I grew up in Haddon Heights, and I joined the Girl Scouts because of a friend,” she says. “And we really enjoyed earning the badges.”
She says back then, uniforms didn’t include sashes. The earned badges were sewn onto the uniform’s sleeves.
At this intergenerational meeting, they learn to make origami flowers.
This is the third event the Forever Girl Scouts have planned with Cadettes from the Girl Scouts of Central and Southern New Jersey. Ainsworth shares stories of working at Camp Kettle Run as a professional Girl Scout with some of the girls from the troop, including Kate Ritter.
“I like the opportunities that we get to meet other people,” says Ritter, a Girl Scout Cadette with Troop 23030.
Erin O’Hara, another Girl Scout Cadette from Ritter’s troop, agrees, saying “they’re really fun to talk to.”
“I love seeing how they can help us, like give us advice about life and stuff,” she says.
“They have a special connection to some other women here that they wouldn’t normally have,” says Ainsworth.
Besides activities, there’s also sing-alongs, where classic Girl Scout songs are sung, like “Make New Friends.”
“This is a wonderful venue for women to be able to join a group that is so, kind of, value-centered,” she says. “That’s something special.”
Mary Ainsworth says the Girl Scouting principles she learned in her youth held true in adulthood and helped her along her career path. She served as a part-time field director of Girl Scouting at Camp Kettle Run, and in her professional career, as a managing editor with McGraw-Hill, where she specialized in information security.
For more information:
Medford Leas
Medford Leas
1 Medford Leas Way
Medford, NJ 08055
Copyright © 2026 WPVI-TV. All Rights Reserved.