Girl Scouts, LCSO Team Up for 'Project Elf'

This holiday season, more than 80 local families are benefiting from the work of 500 Christmas elves in Loudoun County.

The Girl Scouts of Leesburg Service Unit 70-9 have once again teamed up with the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office for "Project Elf," a program that brings holiday gifts and cheer to families enrolled in the Loudoun County Mental Health, Substance Abuse and Developmental Services (MHSADS) Prevention/ Intervention program.

The project began four years ago when Bethann Laign, then the Service Unit Manager of the girl scout unit, was looking for a way to give back for the holidays.

Each of the more than 50 girl scout troops in the service group -- which as a whole encompasses more than 500 girls and their families -- adopts at least one family in the MHSADS program and provides it with clothing and holiday gifts.

They spend the season shopping and wrapping before dropping off the presents at the Mental Health Center in Leesburg. 

“This year, the generosity and hard work of the Girl Scouts and their leaders will allow ‘Project Elf’ to reach out to over 80 families,” Judith Romberg, Prevention & Intervention Program Manager for Loudoun County, said in a statement.

This year, because of the large outpouring of donations, Loudoun County Sheriff's Office deputies are helping MHSADS deliver the gifts this weekend.