February 5, 2014 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • Page 11 Girl Scouts hammer out a solution to housing issue The Midland Park Girl Scouts recently participated in Hammering 4 Habitat, a “friend raiser” for Paterson Habi- tat for Humanity. Held at the Center City Mall in Paterson on Jan. 25, the event drew more than 50 Midland Park Girl Scouts from 11 troops. Each troop came with a 2’x4’ stud that they deco- rated ahead of time with words of hope, inspiration, and New librarian (continued from page 9) goes beyond reading and gets participants busy with build- ing and designing projects as well. Myhren also plans to develop programs for children with disabilities and for middle schoolers, and promote a mentoring program to get high school students involved with younger children and earn community service credits. Though she will continue with the popular story times and crafts programs, she is adding theme parties related to popular authors; daytime movies, crafts and games; and drop-in Fridays, when youngsters can come in to socialize, pick up early-literacy skills and take advantage of the many educational toys the library has available for them. Myhren said she is also starting a chess club in hopes of attracting middle schoolers, and in March, she hopes Baby Time will open networking opportunities for young moms (and dads and grandparents). “Working with kids is fun; it’s very exciting, and every- one is really friendly and makes a point to stop by and say hi,” said Myhren of her experience since joining the staff on Jan. 2. Her boss, Library Director Sue Lazzari, is excited about having Myhren on board. “We’re thrilled to have her. I think she will be a real asset to the community and will do great things with the children’s department,” said Lazzari. “She has a lot of knowledge, not just in reading, but in other areas. She brings everything we want,” she added. Myhren said she enjoyed reading at an early age and began working at her local library as a shelver when in high school. She continued working at the Jackson Library through colledge and interned in the children’s department at their Lakewood Branch, where she worked on program- ming. encouragement. At the event, the girls listened to a short presentation about Habitat and how the organization has helped families in Paterson, the U.S., and throughout the world. To date, Habitat for Humanity has helped build over 800,000 homes worldwide. After the presentation, the girls were escorted to the “build” area. With the help of Habitat volunteers, the girls used their decorated 2’x4’s and others to build a framed wall. These walls will be used in the construction of homes this year. All told, the 350 volunteers at this event built 30 walls. In addition to building walls, the girls enjoyed face painting, tattoos, and made wood crafts at a special Kid Corner sponsored by Home Depot. “It was exciting to see how enthusiastic the girls were swinging the hammers and building their wall,” said Pater- son Habitat for Humanity Faith and Youth Relations Coor- dinator Kerri Schaefer. “They knew that it would be used in somewhere special. All levels of Girl Scouts participated: Daisy through Ambassador. Each had a part in building hope for deserving homeowner families.” Schaefer helped design this year’s special youth pro- gramming. In addition to her work with Habitat, she is also a co-leader for Midland Park’s Brownie Troop 4829 and Daisy Troop 5398.