When Girl Scout Juniors team up to make a difference in their community, they learn essential leadership skills, discover new passions, and watch how seemingly small actions make a big difference. It all adds up to the Girl Scout Bronze Award—the highest honor a Junior can achieve.
Below are highlights from a couple of Bronze Award projects GSMW Girl Scouts have done this past year.
Troop 2191 & Troop 2028
Billings, MT
Two local troops came together to help build a combination Little Free Library and Free Pantry. The Nook was placed at a local church with permission from the church board. They helped with materials for building it and painted it together. After that they helped put it in the ground and then stocked it with books and food.
Troop 1069
Cheyenne, WY
The troop made multiple updates at a local Girl Scout camp property. Girl Scouts purchased wood make new signs for each campsite. They painted, wood burned and added an animal and number for each campsite sign. Girls also created a trefoil shaped solar garden with light-up flowers as well as built benches next to an updated firepit at one of the campsites. Girls also built benches and shelves in the latrine using power tools.
When Girl Scout Cadettes focus on an issue they care about, learn the facts, and take action to make a difference, they gain the confidence and skills to catapult them to lifelong success. It all adds up to the Girl Scout Silver Award—the highest honor a Cadette can achieve.
Below are highlights from the GSMW Silver Year of the Year Award projects.
Juliette - Eleanor K.
Helena, MT
Title: Freaky Fungus Among Us – Protecting Bats from White-Nose Syndrome
Issue Addressed: Eleanor addressed the issue of White-Nose Syndrome that grows in bat’s noses which causes them to wake up from hibernation. This results in the bats starving to death due to a lack of food in the winter.
Project Overview: Working with Montana FWP bat biologist Shannon Hilty, she designed blueprints for bat boxes and, with support from the Montana State Library, shared them with 82 public libraries throughout Montana. She also built two bat boxes which are now installed at the Montana Law Enforcement Academy and are already home to bats, a process that usually takes years!
Sustainability: To boost long-term impact, Eleanor partnered with experts to host community programs, including a “Bat Party” at the Lewis and Clark Library, and will join a bat census this summer to measure her project’s success.
Leadership Skills Learned: Eleanor discovered that she can take charge and make a real difference as well as when taking the lead you learn from others. She also learned how to present under pressure and prepare for a meeting with someone important.
Troop 1932
Green River, WY
Title: Bus Loading Zone Improvements and Public Awareness Campaign Stop on Red Kids Ahead
Issue Addressed: The team focused on reducing the number of drivers ignoring red flashing lights and stop sign on school buses and improving bus loading zones.
Project Overview: The team conducted surveys and went on bus ride-alongs to gather insights on problem areas and discovered that community education and inadequate signage were the root and were met with approval. The team designed and coordinated installation of clearer signage at challenging loading zones and ran public awareness campaigns that included radio ads, pamphlets and a booth at a block party to educate the public about school bus safety.
Sustainability: The radio ads will continue to air during key times during the school year to heighten awareness of bus safety laws. The school board has also approved and committed to installing permanent safety improvements like concrete barriers and special needs loading zones. The impact of their project is seen through feedback received from bus drivers and safety coordinators that suggests a 50 % reductions in violations.
Leadership Skills Learned: The team discovered personal strengths including public speaking, leadership, creativity, and technology and recognize that their efforts have inspired long-term community changes.
Check out a video the troop created for their project! VIEW VIDEO >>
Troop 2051
Billings, MT
Title: Exposure to Words
Issue Addressed: They learned that studies say that exposing children to a vast number of words and a rich vocabulary during their first three years can greatly enhance their language skills and intellectual development. Children at HeadStart need opportunities to be exposed to words.
Project Overview: They helped HeadStart reorganize and create a reading nook at the school by moving items around and building a small house. They also built a puppet theatre for the kids as well as organized books for Lockwood teachers and made book videos for young children.
Sustainability: Teachers will use the excel file to find books and be able to add to the book list. Volunteers can add video stories to the files. Kids will have a puppet theatre to play with and HeadStart teachers can replace puppets when needed.
Leadership Skills Learned: They learned to direct friends by explaining what to do, showing them, and giving them the chance to try. Sometimes they had to give advice to each other on how to make it better. Learning about what each girls strenghs were while working on the project together.
Troop 3574
Wilsall, MT
Title: The Period Project
Issue Addressed: They learned that 1 in 5 girls in the United States struggle to have the appropriate supplies to deal with their period. In this troops local school, based on income demographics and stories shared, that number is closer to 3 in 5. Of the 48 people who filled out our survey, 72% had had a time they did not have period supplies available when they were needed.
Project Overview: They put carts filled with feminine hygiene products in the girls bathrooms and locker rooms ar their school. Along with the carts, they put up positive affirmations on the bathroom stalls to boost girls' self esteem. They talked to the school nurse about letting girls know the products are there and to help educate and familiarize girls on the products provided.
Sustainability: They received 2 grants that allowed them to buy some items in bulk that will keep the carts going for at least the next 2 years. They also partnered with the school to keep the carts filled with supplies and a company called CresentMT who will ship pads and tampons to the school monthly for as long as they are needed.
Leadership Skills Learned: They learned that communicating clearly is very important when asking a company about receiving products of theirs. They found it important when talking to school officials of any kind, it is important to have all the information and facts when it comes to project proposals.
The Girl Scout Gold Award is the mark of the truly remarkable proof that not only can she make a difference, but that she already has. Seniors and Ambassadors who earn the Gold Award tackle important issues and drive lasting change in the world.
The GSUSA Gold Award Scholarship is earned by a Girl Scout who completed a Gold Award project that demonstrated extraordinary leadership, measurable and sustainable impact, and addressed an issue of national and/or global significance. Annually, there is one scholarship available for each council (112 total).
Mairin worked with the Laramie Downtown Clinic; the clinic focuses on providing the uninsured experiencing poverty with integrated healthcare services. Working with clinic staff, volunteers and the board, she created an organizational system to record services provided and improve their reporting system to the Board of Directors. Her efforts will enable the clinic to receive more funding from donors and grants, increase awareness of the clinic services in the community and enhance volunteer and patient engagement with the clinic. Her work was shared with the Albany County United Way’s Community Impact Cooperative so other medical clinics can benefit from her work.
Grace recognized the lack of resources for teens struggling with anxiety and using her love of art, she collaborated with Dr. Kelly Gutierrez, Ph.D., to develop and author a coloring book with tools and techniques to deal with anxiety. Grace shared her book in print and digital formats to local professionals and organizations as well as a large group of doctors and psychologists and a school director in Round Rock, TX. Grace’s coloring book pages were showcased at the 2023 Girl Scout National Convention in the Calm Corner where convention participants could go to decompress and relax. If you or someone you know could benefit from Grace’s mental health coloring book, you can find a copy here.
RJ addressed the issue of period poverty and stigma at their school and in their community. To do this, RJ partnered with the national organization PERIOD to establish a PERIOD chapter in their high school. The PERIOD chapter created a safe space for students to collaborate and advocate for change for themselves and others as well as continue the work RJ has started. They hosted workshops with educators on how to address period poverty in the classroom which has opened up many conversations about period poverty. RJ also led their PERIOD chapter team by organizing period product drives, workshops and social media content.
Kieran collaborated with the University of Wyoming’s Wyoming Natural Diversity Database to discover more about the declining native bee populations. She collected bee samples for identification and data analysis as well as assisted in species identification. She also tested a new bee trap that had not been previously used in the area. Incredibly, one of the samples Kieran collected included a species of bee that had not been observed in that area before; this finding will continue to be a topic of study for the University of Wyoming. Kieran also launched a community educational campaign to teach people the importance of pollinators and how to protect them, specifically Mason bees and other solitary pollinators. She also led a hands-on workshop where participants learned about bees and built bee hotel for their backyard to serve as ideal habitats for pollinators.
