CLARA JEFFERY, IN “THE District’s Escheating Heart” (The District Line, 3/17), implies that because grants are given to the Girl Scouts, they are not going to the Escheated Estate Fund’s intended recipients, namely low-income residents. Had she and D.C. Auditor Russell A. Smith asked the Girl Scouts how they used the funds, they would realize their implication is wrong.

The Girl Scouts have received two three-year grants since 1989 with funds used exclusively to support educational/recreation activities for the city’s most disadvantaged residents. Funds were used to:

Bus 150 children from the Capital City Inn homeless shelter to a summer day program at Carver Terrace in Northeast daily for eight weeks. Without busing, the children could not participate.

Pay for food, insurance, and health supplies which made it possible for hundreds of children from high-risk neighborhoods to attend one of eight summer camps planned to serve this critical population.

Buy essential craft and program supplies to provide learning activities for these youngsters.

The Girl Scout Council of the Nation’s Capital has long been committed to serving at-risk children, and currently serves more than 12,000 low-income girls. We spend nearly $1 million annually, including money from the fund, to develop and maintain troops where the cycle of crime and violence dominate children’s lives. The moneys are spent on recruiting and training leaders, providing one-to-one mentoring, and underwriting costs for supplies to assure the girls can participate in a full range of Girl Scout activities.

Executive Director, Girl Scout Council of the Nation’s Capital, Georgetown