Friday's Internet Edition, July 25, 2008.
Two years of planning, striving for Silver Award teaches local Cadette Girl Scouts a lesson or two
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Features Editor
- Girl Scout Cadette Troop 381 of Memorial United Methodist Church is a small but spirited bunch of young women who have been eyeing their goal for two years.
The girls — East Davidson High School freshmen Allison Croft, Rachel Huffman, Lindsay Larison, Emily Mabe, and Jordan Smink and Ledford Middle School students Shaina Saintsing and Rebecca Blackwell — are after the Silver Award, the highest award available to Cadette Girl Scouts.
It hasn’t been easy, not by a long shot. It has been hours upon hours of work over the last 24 months but, come April 8, the troop will finally see its project come to fruition.
Starting The Project
It all started two years ago, when the troop — four of whom have earned their Bronze Award, the highest award available to Junior Girl Scouts — started considering how to earn their Silver Award.
“It has really taken a lot to get where we are,” the 15-year-old Huffman said. Huffman has been a Scout since she was in kindergarten. “It’s been a lot of hard work, but it has been worth it.”
Croft, also 15, agreed.
“We started brainstorming this two years ago,” she said. “We had an entire page full of ideas, and we had to narrow that down to four or five — and narrow it down again and again until we had what we wanted.”
In order to even begin working on the project that would earn their Silver Award, the girls each had to complete three badges. The girls each earned badges called “From Fitness to Fashion,” “Textile Arts” and “Paddle, Pull and Roll.”
Earning each badge takes approximately one month, and each badge requires extensive book work, project planning, and community service work.
As if that weren’t enough, the girls also had to earn their Cadet Girl Scout Challenge pin and their Leadership pin before work on the Silver Award project could begin.
But they accomplished everything, thanks to teamwork.
“We’re supposed to be a sister to every Girl Scout and every girl,” Huffman said.
“We’re all close,” Smink agreed. “We all like each other. We’re tighter than sisters, and we knew we could make this work.”
“This has been a real team effort,” Croft said. “Everybody has their own strengths and weaknesses, and we all brought something to the project. If we didn’t have each other, this wouldn’t have happened.”
“Yeah,” Smink said. “If even one person from around this table was missing, we’d have a huge chunk gone from our project.”
Changing The World
Domestic violence hit close to home for the troop. One of their friends had suffered from it in her home, and the girls of Troop 381 knew they had to do something.
A trip to the Women’s Shelter at Family Services for Davidson County Inc. and a conversation with crisis intervention director Stacy West sealed it.
“We were on our way back from that trip, and we were just talking and brainstorming, and we came up with it,” Croft said. “We thought a small seminar for girls about self-defense and how to live on their own would be good. And so we started brainstorming.
“We wanted to change the world.”
“It was that trip that really did it,” Huffman agreed. “We were wondering what to do, and we all agreed we wanted to make our corner of the world a better place. So we thought we’d invite girls to come and talk about the subjects that need to be talked about.
“It’s important to get things out in the open sometimes.”
The girls readily agreed that it was West’s passion that struck them the most. And the targeted age group — girls in the sixth through twelfth grades — is something they can all relate to.
“Those are all girls our age,” Mabe said. “We can talk right to them, and they’ll listen, because they will know that we are where they are.”
Planning a workshop — even a small one — is no easy task. The girls had to not only plan the event and decide upon topics, they had to approach and schedule speakers and speak to local businesses about donating their goods for door prizes or to cover lunch.
They learned networking skills. Public speaking and people skills. Planning and record-keeping skills.
And, most importantly, they learned about the level of organization and dedication required to make a dream come true.
The Workshop
‘Explore a New You: Inside and Out’ is a workshop the troop will hold April 8 from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at Memorial United Methodist Church.
Lunch and a morning snack will be provided free-of-charge.
Admission is a donation to the Women’s Shelter of Davidson County Family Services — toiletry items, household cleaning supplies, medical supplies, and old cell phones are most in need.
Registration is open to all girls who are in the sixth through twelfth grades. Space is limited to 50 seats — and as of Monday night, 34 are already signed up.
To register, call 887-5002 and leave a voice message containing the name, street address, school grade level and telephone number of any girls interested in participating.
The workshop will include information for girls about the “real scoop” on high school, nutrition and exercise tips, basic car-care information (targeted at those girls who are in high school), confidence-boosters, skin care tips, teen fashion, and self-defense tips for dangerous situations.
Each speaker donated their time to help the girls earn their award.
Registration will be from 8:30-9 a.m.
At 9 a.m., Todd Shore, the athletic director at the Mills Home campus of Baptist Children’s Homes of North Carolina, and Rebecca Gilleland, a Guilford County Health Department nutritionist, will offer tips on exercise and nutrition for girls.
At 9:50 a.m., Unilin director of safety and environment Karl Smink will speak on car care basics for high school girls.
Also at 9:50 a.m., East Davidson High School principal Kathi Smith will speak to middle school girls about “The Real Scoop on High School.”
A break is scheduled for 10:15 a.m., sponsored by Harris Teeter of High Point. A resource table containing information on local colleges, various careers, and female health will be available to workshop participants.
At 10:45 a.m., corrections officer Ron Lamb and Stokes Harriston of Sidekicks of Lexington will speak on personal safety, and offer some self-defense tips to participants.
Stacy West will be the workshop’s keynote speaker. Her address will begin at 11:45 a.m.
A graduate of Lexington High School and the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, she holds a Master’s degree from East Carolina University. She has been a social worker since 1991.
At 12:15 p.m., participants will enjoy a lunch sponsored by Thomasville Medical Center. The women of Troop 381 will also put on a fashion show and display outfits ranging from professional wear to casual wear — with some of their own creations on display.
At 1:15 p.m., closing remarks will be given, and door prizes given by several local companies will be given out.
Tip Toes & Tans Too, off West Main Street, has donated a manicure, while Bella Donna Salon, in the Main Street Plaza near the Post Office, has donated a manicure and haircut.
Sally’s Beauty Supply of Liberty Square donated lip gloss, nail polish, and other items.
North State Communications donated the telephone line and voice message capabilities to the girls for use with registration.
Elliott’s Florist, Hill’s Farm and Garden and Flowers By Neal donated gifts for the speakers.
Cadet Girl Scout Troop 652 provided toiletry bags, and Oakley’s Books and Gifts in the Southgate Shopping Center donated goodie bags.
Sidekicks of Lexington don-ated a free self-defense lesson in American open-style Karate.
Proud Leaders
Troop 381 is led by Teresa Huffman, Teah Sminks, and Anna Croft.
“We’ve all marveled at these girls,” Huffman said. “They’ve grown a lot thanks to this project. They’ve learned that if you can organize it, you can do it — no matter how big a project seems at first.
“It has really taken a methodical effort on their part to get this project up off the ground. Kids are so used to instant gratification nowadays — it’s so fantastic to see these girls work like this. Two years is a lifetime for kids this age, but they worked so very hard.
“They’re committed kids, they’re good kids, and we’re so very proud of everything they’ve done.”
Troop 381 is part of the Tarheel Triad Girl Scout Council, which is part of Girl Scouts of America.
On March 12, 1912, Juliette Gordon Low registered the first two Girl Scout troops in Savannah, Ga. When she died in 1927, there were 168,000 Girl Scouts in America.
Today, there are well over 3.6 million throughout the United States, including Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, and in more than 80 countries through USA Girl Scouts Overseas.
(March 30)