Northborough Girl Scout troop 30528 is set to depart on a week-long trip to Puerto Rico on February 18 to celebrate their long-lasting dedication to the troop.

According to senior Sherilyn Hinchey, the trip is meant to reward themselves for their hard work and service throughout their years as Girl Scouts.

In order to have the opportunity to travel to Puerto Rico, the girls had to put in great efforts to gather the funds for the trip.

“Each girl in our troop was responsible for holding a few events that would bring in some money,” senior Elise Gallagher said. “I did a paint night, one girl did a zumba night, and obviously selling cookies was how we raised most of our money.”

Prior to the possibility of the trip, the troop still worked just as hard. Rather than dedicating their efforts to fundraising for Puerto Rico, they focused on serving the community.

According to Hinchey, there are several Girl Scout Awards including the Bronze, Silver and Gold that are each earned with the completion of an extended community service project.

“You do the Bronze Award as a troop and you pick an important issue in your community to try to make a lasting impact on,” Hinchey said. “So then for the Silver Award, you do it in a group of three or four, and for the Gold Award, you do it independently.”

Hinchey worked in a group with Gallagher and junior Nicole English to earn the Girl Scout Silver Award.

“We worked on animal shelters and my part of it was to collect donations for an animal shelter around here,” Hinchey said. “Elise’s part was building feral cat houses, and Nikki’s part was teaching kids in elementary schools how to take care of pets and how to approach animal safety.”

The next award that troop members are hoping to earn is the Gold Award, which must be completed by the end of summer 2017.

According to Hinchey, not all members plan to pursue this award due to the extensive amount of time and effort it entails.

For now, the girls are focusing their time and attention on the anticipation of the trip.

“I’m really looking forward to kayaking in a bioluminescent bay and zip lining!” Gallagher said.

According to co-troop leader Karen English the trip serves a greater purpose than just relaxing on the beach.

“Girl Scouts allows these kids to decide what they want to do, how they are going to get there, and how they are going to pay for it,” Karen English said. “They are empowered because they are watching their decisions happen.”

According to Nicole English it was fairly simple to maintain the drive and focus necessary to remain a member of the troop throughout the years.

“To stay in Girl Scouts all I had to do was continue to want to be a part of the troop and [co-troop leaders Karen English and Jennifer Wigg] have done a fantastic job of changing the activities we do so they are appropriate for our age,” Nicole English said.

The troop leaders’ main goal is to engage the members in unique activities from which they can develop and mature.

“In the activities, we see girls try things they might not have otherwise done… with each new experience, we see the girls gain confidence,” Karen English said.