Sending the letter wasn’t easy. USPS would not deliver the letters to Ukraine, and other mail services charged steep fees. But these Girl Scouts didn’t give up! They found a shipping company called Meest USA, and through them, the troop’s message made its way overseas. By March 2025, their perseverance paid off when a postcard arrived in return.
It came from Mariia Makodzeba, Chief Commissioner for the Association of Ukranian Guides, who not only thanked the troop but invited them to keep in touch via email. With Mackenzie’s help, Troop 37167 set up a Zoom meeting with Ukrainian Guides on May 4, 2025. Together, they had the chance to learn about differences in their uniforms, existing levels, and what scouting looks like in the U.S. compared to Ukraine. They made plans to teach each other new things in future meetings.
Not long after, Troop 37167 dissolved when their troop leader retired, but Mackenzie’s determination to keep the connection with her new Ukranian Guide friends alive never wavered. She created a "Ukrainian Guides Box” filled with activities and patches, including instructions to make a piñata shaped like a Girl Scout vest, bake original Girl Scout cookies from 1922, and all of the supplies needed to make a cake in the shape of the Daisy flower.
