Four Girl Scouts from Red Bud receive Girl Scout Gold Award…the highest individual achievement in Girl Scouting
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The Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois (GSSI) is pleased to announce that Lindsey Bollman, Rachel Hanner, Kayla Juelfs and Caitlyn Thompson have earned the Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest award a Girl Scout can receive. The girls are all members of Troop #8316 from Red Bud.
For their Girl Scout Gold Award project, named "Project Playground," the girls made improvements to the popular Red Bud Sports Complex. While Girl Scout Gold Award projects are typically individual endeavors, the girls were all interested in enhancing community recreational opportunities - particularly for children. To meet the substantial requirements to earn the Girl Scout Gold Award, each girl also completed a specialized project that tied into the group's goals.
Together, Lindsey, Rachel, Kayla and Caitlyn oversaw the development of a new playground at the Red Bud Sports Complex. While there was some playground equipment in place, it was a significant distance from the tee ball diamonds where many of the youngest children gathered. Since parents did not want their small children out of visibility range, children attending their siblings' tee ball games often had no place to play. To remedy this, the four Girl Scouts worked with the Red Bud Athletic Association (RBAA) and the Red Bud City Council to approve installation of a new playground in this area of the Sports Complex. Soon after the girls presented their idea to the RBAA, an anonymous donor provided funds for the project. The girls then did significant research to find the playground design that would best fit their needs and budget -deciding on Red Bud's own Ultra Play Systems. Finally, the girls landscaped around the playground to create a safe and enjoyable recreation area.
For her individual role in the project, Rachel made the Red Bud Sports Complex more environmentally friendly. To do so, she arranged with Red Bud City Utilities to provide plastic barrels, which she then constructed into easy-to-use recycling bins that were distributed across the Sports Complex. She and her troop collected the recycling - gathering over 400 lbs of cans in one summer. "I like to help the community and preserve the environment," she stated. Rachel is the daughter of John and Luann Hanner. She is currently a Sophomore at Red Bud High School.
Lindsey decided to beautify the Sports Complex for her individual project. After securing approval from the RBAA, she worked prepping, weeding, planting, and mulching flower beds in the park. Lindsey received quite a bit of positive feedback about the beds and the difference it made to overall appearance of the park. Through her project, Lindsey learned, "Hard work leads to great things, but working together as a team can lead to so much more." Lindsey is the daughter of Michael and Diana Bollman. She is currently a Junior at Red Bud High School.
Kayla and Caitlyn tackled the tough challenge of revitalizing the Sports Complex batting cage for their specialized contributions. The batting cages had taken a lot of weathering over the years, the roof leaked and the walls were in bad shape. Caitlyn and Kayla also worked closely with the RBAA and Red Bud City Council to get proper approval of the project. Next, the girls appealed to the community to secure supply donations. Working with volunteers, the girls renovated the old batting cage; including putting up new walls, boxing in unsafe pipes, repairing the roof and installing new insulation and ceiling covering. They also added bat bag hooks, a bat holder and decorative accents to make the transformation complete.
"I love my project and feel a sense of pride knowing that I am leaving behind something that my community will be able to use for years to come," said Caitlyn. Caitlyn is the daughter of Rick and Vicky Thompson and is currently a Junior at Red Bud High School.
Kayla also noted that she learned a lot about the power of persistence from her Girl Scout Gold Award project, and Girl Scouting in general. "I learned that a lot of hard work pays off in the end," she explained. "If you can believe, you can succeed." Kayla is the daughter of Gary and Wanda Juelfs. She is currently a Sophomore at Red Bud High School.
The Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest award a Girl Scout can earn, recognizes a Girl Scout's commitment to excellence as she develops skills and values to meet present and future challenges in her life. To earn the Girl Scout Gold Award, a Girl Scout Senior or Girl Scout Ambassador must design and carry out a project that fulfills a need within a girl's community, creates change, and is sustainable. The project must be completed with a suggested minimum of 80 hours of work. Only about 6 percent of eligible girls earn the prestigious Gold Award.
Today, Girl Scouts of the U.S.A. is the largest voluntary organization for girls in the world. Its sole focus is to meet the needs of all girls (ages 5-17) from diverse racial, ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds. Today's Girl Scouts not only enjoy camping and crafts, but they also explore math and science and learn about diversity, good citizenship, leadership and teamwork. Girl Scouting is the place where girls experience the fun, friendship and power of girls together.
The Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois is a not-for-profit organization supported by various United Ways throughout the region. The Girl Scouts is a Proud Partner of United Way. For more information, please call Jay Strobel or Erin Johnson at 618.692.0692.