Two of the young victims who died in last month’s midair collision over the Potomac River had ties to a local Girl Scouts troop.
The bond Girl Scouts share is undeniable, so losing one of their own is incredibly hard.
“When your kids are that age, and then they have someone their age die, it's just, it's so, it's so shocking and unbelievable,” Troop 70202 leader Helena Welch said.
Sisters Alydia and Everly Livingston – ages 11 and 14, respectively –and their parents, Donna and Peter, were on the American Airlines flight that crashed Jan. 29. They were returning from a figure skating training camp in Kansas.
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The girls were immensely talented, dedicated young skaters who still made time to have fun.
“Donna wanted her daughters to be able to experience everything I think they wanted to experience,” Troop 70202 leader Alexandra Ballin said. “And, even though they had a busy schedule, Donna always said, ‘We'll make it work. We'll make it work.’”
Welch and Ballin lead the Girl Scouts troop Alydia was a part of. Their daughters were friends with Alydia, and they were both close with her mother.
When they learned of the Livingston family’s passing, they contacted another troop’s leader, who is a mental health expert.
“She gave us so many tools to use to have our first meeting after what happened,” Welch said. “So, we had the ability to try and discuss it with the girls in a way that they were able to express what each of them felt.”
Alydia was a member of Troop 70202 for six years. Welch and Ballin say she was their most enthusiastic cookie seller.
“She's like a shining star,” Welch said. “She just had so much energy and so much fun. She would bring that to the troop meetings, and the girls just loved it.”
Members of the troop will attend Sunday’s Legacy on Ice performance. Welch and Ballin hope the event will allow the girls to share their grief with the loved ones of the others who were lost in the tragedy.
“It's where we can come together and heal, in a sense, of the tragedy that has happened and have something positive come out of it,” Welch said.
Alydia’s Girl Scouts troop is working on an idea for a memorial for the Livingston family.
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