The Girl Scouts of Junior Troop 163 put their hearts into a recent service project: they cleaned up the race route for the Kedron Elementary Heart to Heart race.

The Scouts picked up trash along the roads and paths for the 1 mile and the 5K race, giving the runners a more pleasant view while they ran the race, and benefiting residents as well. The girls of Troop 163 have recently been challenged by their leader, Marsha McCranie, to develop service projects in subjects they feel strongly about.

Each girl will lead the entire troop in her own service project. This race clean-up was the first of the individual projects; it was led by Emma Kate Thome, with support from her mother, Connie.

Emma has run the Kedron Heart to Heart race since its inception three years ago, and both she and her mother won awards this year in their age categories.

These individual service projects will prepare the girls for the larger projects required to earn the Girl Scout Bronze, Silver and Gold Awards.

The girls of Troop 163 are fifth graders from Kedron and Crabapple Lane Elementary Schools in Peachtree City.