Sarah's Girl Scout Gold Award Blog: Getting Down to Business

 

 

Hello everyone!  My Girl Scout Gold Award project was at a bit of a standstill last week.  This week, however, my mentor Karlene and I got down to business.  This week, we went shopping!

Earlier this week, we hit 5 Below and two Walmarts in order to collect some supplies we would need to make this library a success.  Our list included: beanbag chairs, rugs, steno pads, mood lighting, and little trinkets to fill my homemade sensory bags with.  Bargain hunting soon became the main mission of our endeavor since I was only given $200 in grant money.  We found two lava lamps for $5 each and several steno pads for $0.88 each.  Amazingly enough, we only went about $45 over budget.  We were able to check everything off the list! Well, almost everything.  The only things I needed were library cards and pockets and a check-out stamp.  I ended up buying those online. 

 

Later in the week, I asked some girls in the troop to come over and help me get some heavy work done on the project.  I set up three stations: a filling station, a sewing station, and a pocket gluing station.  The girls came over and immediately got to work.  I was busy sewing sensory bags.  A couple girls filled the bags with various items and the rest of us sewed them shut.  The girls who arrived a little later assumed the role of gluing library pockets in the books and slipping a card into each one.  We all worked for 5 hours straight.  The lemonade and the conversation flowed like water through a dam.  Time flew by and so did the work.  We finished 149 bags and managed to attach pockets to about 300 books. Only 221 books to go! 

 

Next week, I plan to finally meet with my handyman and get those darn bookshelves built.  The quicker those are knocked out, the quicker we can paint them and set them aside for later.  I promise to be prompt on my next update.  Until next time!

 

Week Six Photos

 

 

Sarah's Girl Scout Gold Award Blog: A Busy Week

 

 

Hey everyone!  This week has been a very busy one for sure.  I recruited my family to help me which was a huge relief.  My mom logged the rest of the books into the computer and repaired all of the ones with broken bindings.  My sister was eager to get crafty, so I let her start creating the library’s grand opening party decorations.  I cut fabric and sewed them, creating sensory bags.  I’m so thankful that help arrived because I would probably still be telling you I was documenting books if it hadn’t.

At the beginning of this week, I had planned to dictate a schedule in order to work on the library more.  It just so happened that my work schedule at Dairy Queen allowed me a few free days to get some decent work done on the project. 

 

My best friend came over and we measured out rectangles of old fabric I had in my sewing kit.  There was a lot of variety in the fabric.  I had fabric with everything from polka dots to cats in space on it.  Hopefully, the kids will enjoy them.  After we got everything cut up, I folded the rectangles in half and sewed two of their edges together.  The plan is to take the unfinished baggies to the church where our troop meets and have some of the girls help me fill them and sew them shut.  As I was busily parked at my sewing machine, my mom was hot gluing, super gluing, and taping damaged books back together.  Once she was done, the books looked as good as new (well, almostJ).  I tested them by shaking them by their bindings.  Luckily, all of them passed the test.  While that was going on, my older sister was busy being creative with a grand opening poster.  She made it read: Welcome to the Exceptional Learners’ Library Grand Opening!  It looked really cool because she replaced some of the letters with school supplies.  Personally, I thought she should have waited on the poster, but at least it will be one less thing to do later on.  Any help is better than no help. 

Later in the week, Karlene asked me to pick up some more donated supplies.  Yay!  I received two wooden crates for the rolling library cart, five checker games, and a yard or two of burlap fabric left over from Girl Scout Day Camp.  No more book work! It’s time to get crafty! 

 

Some photos from my week:

 

     

Sarah's Girl Scout Gold Award Blog: Week Four

 

 

Hello all! Sorry about this late update.  I was at a family reunion in South Dakota last week.  It was nice to have a short break and spend some time with the family, but I’m back and ready to get to work. 

 

Unfortunately, I didn’t meet my goal of documenting all of the books by last Tuesday, but that’s okay.  More donations came rolling in, and I’m going to pick them up from Mrs. Karlene’s house tomorrow.  We definitely won’t run out of books, that’s for sure.  I’m so thankful for all the support I received thus far. 

I talked to my best friend to see if his dad would be available to help us build the bookshelves, and he said we might have to wait a week.  His dad was recently diagnosed with leukemia and just received his first round of chemo.  When I found out, I told him he shouldn’t worry about the bookshelves, but he insisted on still helping me with the project.  He still wants to donate the wood and give oral instructions, but building the shelves will be up to my friend and me.  I am completely okay with that. 

In the meantime, I need to finish counting and inventorying my books.  After they are all tallied up, I need to go online and purchase library check-out cards and pockets.  I looked up the prices this week to find a bargain.  I try my best to be a savvy shopper and save money.  With college just around the corner, saving money is a must.  However, I can spare some expense to make a comfortable, stylish library.  Like any typical teenage girls, I love to go shopping.  I might need to put in a few extra hours working at Dairy Queen, but it will be worth it!  I also have a nanny job two days a week that will help cover some costs as well. 

When pursuing the Girl Scou Gold Award, it’s very important to create a budget and try to stick to it.  Part-time jobs or self-organized fundraisers will make the project easier on your wallet.  Of course, donations always help!  This coming week, I hope to wrap up all book documentations and start making toys and eventually the bookshelves.  It’s time to get cracking!     

Sarah's Girl Scout Gold Award Blog: A Productive Week

Greetings!  How is everybody?  This week has been very productive, if I do say so myself.  Lots of progress has been made on my project so far.  Someof the work took whole days to complete, but it was definitely worth it.

My first goal of this week was to dig through the rest of my donations in order to decipher which books could and could not be used.  On Tuesday, I recruited my best friend to come over and help me sort the books.  He was more than happy to help.  We tackled each box together, looking for damage or graffiti.  It was obvious that some of the books had been in the hands of a mischievous toddler because there were Barbie stickers plastered on every page! 

 Not only did we have to worry about the stickers inside the book, but we also needed to tear off the price stickers that were stuck to the back.  Many of those pesky stickers refused to come off!  Even if they did, they left a sticky residue.  Several de-stickered books became stuck together!  Besides ripping stickers, we had to wipe away the crusty scum that covered the fronts and backs of most of the books.  After several dirty Wet Wipes, our books were smooth and sparkling.  It took nearly five hours to clean and remove stickers from every book.  I think it’s safe to say that I never want to peel another sticker off of anything ever again.  We were tired, but we finally finished the job!  My friend and I celebrated our victory with a grilled cheese break.  After lunch, we packed the books back up in their boxes and set them aside for further use.

Later in the week, on Friday, I decided to take another crack at those books.  I grabbed a laptop and parked myself in a comfy chair.  I pulled up an Excel spreadsheet and began documenting each book.  Book by book, box by box, I recorded the title, author, and ISBN number of each usable book.  It took me two days to catalog 193 books.  With the push of a button, the list was alphabetized from A to Z by author names.  The good news is, over half of my books are organized and documented on the computer.  There are still one or two boxes left to inventory, but I plan to finish them all by Tuesday of next week.  After that, I plan to use my spreadsheet as a system of how to organize the books on the shelves and as a check-out roster for the students. 

 

Remember to use your project resources whenever to can in order to be efficient.  Some things you create such as lists can come in handy later on.  Also, not every task you complete will be easy.  It will take a lot of determination and motivation.  I learned that some aspects of this project will definitely test my patience, but if I focus on the outcome, the effort will pay off.      

 

Sarah's Girl Scout Gold Award Blog: Getting Support

Hi guys, it’s Sarah again!  This week has been very productive, and I’m so appreciative of all the support from the community.  I have received over 113 old and new books and two boxes full of toys and games as donations.  All week, I was busy going through donations and finding outside resources to help make my project a success.

Early this week, I sifted through my first round of donations.  I was looking for any damaged or vandalized books.  These books were older and definitely used.  It’s really important to examine any donations you might receive for your project to make sure they are even usable. 

 

On Wednesday, my troop leader, Karlene, dropped off another round of donations.  I was very excited because these were shiny and brand new.  Now that I have the books, I need to consider options for bookshelves.  I’ve decided that I want to build my own bookshelves in order to get some handywoman experience.  Unfortunately, I didn’t have anyone in my immediate family that could teach me.  Then, I remembered that my best friend’s dad was in the process of building a deck for their house.  I had found my handyman!

 

 I asked my friend if his dad would be willing to show me how to build a bookshelf or if he was willing to give me any building tips.  He told me his dad would be more than happy to help.  The next time I was at his house, all three of us sat down to discuss dimensions for the shelves and floor plans for the library.  His dad even said he would donate the wood I would need to build the shelves!  He also agreed to show me how to build them.  Once the blueprints are all drawn up, we’ll be able to start construction!  After those are done, I can focus on other fun furniture like beanbag chairs and a fish tank. There is still a lot to do, but the project definitely has a promising start.          

Sarah's Girl Scout Gold Award Blog: Step 1 - Picking a Project

Hi! My name is Sarah, and I wanted to document the process of completing my Girl Scout Gold Award project. 

The goal of this blog is to help and inform any girls who are possibly interested in pursuing her Girl Scout Gold Award.  Trust me, I know that creating, organizing, and leading a large scale community service project sounds intimidating, but it is possible to accomplish.  The key is finding a project that motivates you and you are passionate about. 

My goal for my project is to create a functional library and stress-free therapy zone for students with special needs at a local middle school.  The school currently has an operating library, but all of the books are too advanced for these students to read and comprehend.  The kids I’ll be working with are only able to read from a preschool to a third grade level.  I want them to be able to relate and feel included with their peers.  I also plan to add a shelf to one of the school’s rolling carts and make it into a “rolling library”.  This will allow more special needs classrooms access to the books.  

 

Since these children have disabilities such as behavior disorders and autism, the classroom can be a very stressful environment for them.  Not only do I want to create a space where they can read, but I also want to make a safe area where they can relax and enjoy themselves.  To do this, I am going to make sensory and therapy toys for them to play with.  I will also provide games, puzzles, lounging furniture, and even a fish tank for their enjoyment.  Even though I have only an 8x8 ft area to build my library, this is going to be a big project.

The first and most difficult step to starting my Girl Scout Gold Award project was coming up with an idea.  For months, my troop leader would ask me if I had an idea so we could get started a project.  Every time, I drew a blank.  I could NOT come up with a single idea!!!  My older sister had completed her project a year before and she had set the bar pretty high.  Her project’s goal was to host fun events where patients at St. Louis Children’s Hospital could paint pictures, decorate cupcakes, and meet their heroes like policemen and firefighters.  She even managed to bring Olympic athletes in to meet with the kids! 

 

Long story short, I was stumped.  When my leader informed me that a friend of hers was looking for help to create a library for her students, I jumped on the opportunity.  For me, it was like a match made in heaven.  I love reading more than almost anything.  To give other kids the opportunity to share in the joy of reading sounded like a worthy cause to me.  Finding the perfect project idea can be a trial all on its own, but if you look into your hobbies, you might be surprised to find a need in the community.  Also, be sure to ask several different sources about possible projects like school advisors, charitable organizations (remember to stick to Gold Award rules), and even your troop leader.  Research lots of ideas before you ask to get approved.

Once I had my idea on lock-down, I met with my project advisor, Cindy, the teacher who asked for my help.  She told me the conditions of her students and she pitched to me her own ideas for the space.  I wrote her ideas and my own down in a handy dandy little notebook for future reference.  My leader, Karlene, and I measured the area Cindy gave me to work with and also jotted down possible dimensions for book shelves and other furniture.  We also discussed therapeutic amenities for the space.  Cindy’s only restriction was that anything we brought in had to be large enough to not be able to fit into a sneaky student’s pocket.  That seemed easy enough J. 

 

After our meeting with Cindy, we headed back to Mrs. Karlene’s house to fill out the paperwork for the Girl Scout Council of Southern Illinois.  4 hours and a whole pizza later, the paperwork was done and ready to be reviewed.  Since I had cut it pretty close to the submission deadline, Mrs. Karlene had to personally drop the paperwork off to Council the next morning while I was at school.  All that time writing up my project ideas and goals had paid off! I was approved!  With school drawing to a close and summer just around the corner, I’m ready to kick off my project.