Chesapeake Girl Scout Earns Silver Award

Annalee, a Chesapeake Girl Scout, has earned the Girl Scout Silver Award, the second highest honor and achievement a girl can earn in Girl Scouting. For her project, Annalee focused on collecting donations of pajamas and flip-flops for Union Mission Ministries, an organization that serves homeless men, women and children in the community.

To collect donations, Annalee set up boxes at A Place for Girls, the regional Girl Scout program center, and the YMCA. She also distributed handouts with bags for donations to 50 neighbors and went back through her neighborhood to collect items. She shared her project in her church bulletin, in a letter to families at her school and through a presentation at a Girl Scout leaders meeting. To try to collect even more donations, Annalee wrote letters to 14 clothing companies asking for donations, and, with the help of a fellow troop member, she tie-dyed and sold T-shirts to her troop members and used the profits to purchase pajamas. As a result of her hard work, she was able to donate 226 pairs of pajamas, 120 pairs of flip-flops and other gently used clothing to Union Mission Ministries.

In addition to her pajama and flip-flop collection drive, Annalee made sure to raise awareness in her community about Union Mission Ministries and the people they serve. She inspired her Girl Scout troop to collect nearly 100 hats and scarves for Union Mission Ministries and donate bus tickets and Girl Scout Cookies to the organization. Also inspired by Annalee, a family friend purchased and donated 30 boxes of Girl Scout Cookies and her sister made Thanksgiving cookies for Union Mission Ministries. Through her project, Annalee motivated others to make a difference and do their part to help those who are homeless.

The Girl Scout Silver Award is the top award that middle school age Girl Scouts can earn. To earn the award, girls have to identify a need in the community and carry out a Take Action project to address the matter through leadership work.