Silver Award Spotlight: Little Lending Library

Girl Scout Cadette Kathryn earned her Silver Award by designing and building a Little Lending Library for the students at Rena B. Wright Primary School.  

She designed a really cool two story library that can hold up to 75 books.  Kathryn's dad helped her shop for all the supplies she would need and taught Kathryn safe use of the power tools she would need for her project. 

After building the Little Library, she painted it using the school’s colors- blue and white.  Family and friends were happy to donate gently used children's books and Kathryn collected enough for several months of stock.

Once the library was complete and posted in the ground she made a special presentation to the faculty and staff of Rena B. Wright about the benefits of reading to small children and the process for designing, building and painting the library.  

The Little Lending Library has been well used.  Even since schools have been closed due to Covid-19, Kathryn has continued to restock books each week. 

“I am happy that the books are being used and I have restocked the books several times. I am very proud of my Little Lending Library and I know it will be used for years to come!”

Reading Rocks

Earlier this spring, four members of Girl Scout Junior Troop 805 in Chesapeake set out on a mission to make an impact on literacy rates in their community. The two fourth graders, Kiersten and Zoe, and two fifth graders, Kailie and Elizabeth, brainstormed ways that they could give children access to books all summer long. During the planning process, Zoe’s mother Stephanie Martin, who volunteers with the troop, shared with the girls about the population of children she worked with when she was a teacher at Thurgood Marshall Elementary School in South Norfolk. After learning about the lack of resources faced by many of her students, the members of Troop 805 came up with a solution and their project, Reading Rocks, was born.

Zoe, Kiersten, Kailie and Elizabeth 

The girls got to work right away contacting libraries, local businesses and friends seeking donations of new and gently used books. After a generous response, the girls had enough books to distribute at least five to every kindergartner and first grader at Thurgood Marshall Elementary School. Each of the four Girl Scouts also made 50 file folder games so that each student could have fun and educational activities to occupy some of their time over the summer. The Girl Scouts had Reading Rocks backpacks made for each student to carry their new books and games in and also gave some crayons to each student.

On May 23, the Girl Scouts loaded up their mothers’ cars with the backpacks and made their way to Thurgood Marshall Elementary School. It was just after school, and the girls made a presentation to all of the kindergarten and first grade teachers to explain their project and leave all of their backpacks to be distributed before the end of the year. The teachers applauded the work of the Girl Scouts and thanked them for their efforts. Giving students their own books to read over the summer can make a big impact on the literacy skills they retain from the school year.

“The most challenging part of the project was making all of the file folder games because it was time consuming,” Kiersten said. “But it was an important part of the project because they will help the students practice important skills like vowel sounds and contractions.”

Each of the four Girl Scouts put in nearly 40 hours each to complete the project. For their work, the girls will earn the Girl Scout Bronze Award, which is the third highest honor and achievement a girl can earn in Girl Scouting.

Tidewater Park Girl Scout Troop Hosts Black History Month Read-a-Thon

When Ernecia House thinks back to her time as a Girl Scout, she has some of her fondest childhood memories. She met some of her best friends through Girl Scouts—some of whom she still stays in contact with today. She also made great memories with her mother, who was also her troop leader. Now in her 30s, Ernecia and her mother Jan decided it was time to get back to Girl Scouting, and they have embarked on a new adventure together as the leaders of Girl Scout Troop 5161.

Girl Scout volunteer Ernecia House with Jykera, Naja and
Sa'Miya from Troop 5161.

When this mother-daughter team decided to get involved with Girl Scouts again, they learned about a new troop of Girl Scouts at Tidewater Park Elementary School who were in need of volunteers. The troop, which is funded by a grant from the United Way of South Hampton Roads Women’s Leadership Council, will help Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast provide girls at Tidewater Park with opportunities to build leadership skills, give back to the community and develop a sense of self-empowerment.

Although the troop just started meeting in January, under the guidance of Ernecia, Jan and longtime Girl Scout volunteer Toni Taylor, girls have already started forming new friendships, learning about responsibility and citizenship and setting personal goals to make themselves and their community a better place.

“Anything that you want to do, you can do it in Girl Scouts,” Taylor told the girls. “Girl Scouts is a positive place. It’s a sisterhood where we welcome all girls.”

Girl Scout volunteer Frederica looks
through a Black History Month book
with Girl Scout Daisy Sa'Miya during a
read-a-thon held by Troop 5161.

On February 23, the members of Girl Scout Troop 5161 hosted a Black History Month Read-a-Thon for their classmates who stay after school in the Boys and Girls Club at Tidewater Park Elementary School. During the read-a-thon, girls read Black History Month-themed books and then completed a variety of literacy activities, including creating an award for the book they read, writing an alternate ending and summarizing the plot. The read-a-thon was a fun and informal way to reinforce the literacy skills girls are learning in school.

Prior to the read-a-thon, the members of Girl Scout Troop 5161 already earned their first badge—Girl Scout Ways, which taught them about the history of Girl Scouting, its founder and the meaning of the Girl Scout Promise and Law. The troop members also talked about personal goals for 2015 and made vision boards, and they are selling Girl Scout Cookies.

“It’s a joy to be back volunteering with Girl Scouts after nearly 20 years,” Jan House said.

Next up, the troop has planned a field trip to Nauticus, and they will soon be working on the requirements to earn the First Aid badge.

Gold Award Spotlight: Butterflies and Books

Girl Scout Senior Emilia from Seaford has earned the Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest honor and achievement. Emilia learned that children who are independent readers perform better academically and are more successful in life than their peers who do not read independently. For her project, Emilia focused on encouraging students at Seaford Elementary School to become lifelong readers with the hope that it would also lead them to success in the future.

To begin her project, Emilia surveyed the students at Seaford Elementary School to learn about what books they enjoy reading. Using this information, she developed a mural design, and since the school has a butterfly garden, also included butterflies in the design. During the summer, Emilia painted the mural inside the school and finished it in time for school to start this fall.

“I chose this project because I have always loved art and saw it as a way for me to spread word about the importance of literacy,” Emilia said. “Through my project I showed the students at Seaford Elementary School the possibilities that reading can offer them.”

Once the school year started, Emilia made presentations about the mural and its message of universal literacy to students, teachers and administrators at the school. She also talked about the process of transforming a sketch and mural design into a large mural.

The Gold Award requires girls to identify an issue in their community and carry out a Take Action project to address the matter through leadership work. Nationwide, less than 6 percent of eligible Girl Scouts earn the Gold Award, which adds Emilia to an elite group of female leaders across the country with the honor.

Let's Read, Let's Move!

Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast welcomed new Girl Scouts to the organization during Let’s Read, Let’s Move, a family fun event held on September 28 at the Meyera E. Oberndorf Central Library in Virginia Beach. Girls and their families were invited to learn more about Girl Scouts, as well as participate in activities to teach girls about healthy living and the fun of reading.

Newly-registered Girl Scout Daisy Mia
with WAVY-TV Anchor Lex Gray

During the afternoon, girls had the opportunity to meet WAVY-TV Anchor Lex Gray, who read The Adventures of Rowena and Carrot Jam The Rabbit to girls and gave them copies of the book. They also made crafts, including friendship bracelets and bookmarks, and made their own spinner wheels with activities for staying active. The Virginia Beach Reading Council attended and allowed children to choose a book to take with them to help build their home library.

Studies show that addressing both the needs of mind and body are part of the healthy development of children. Academic success is more likely to happen when a child maintains good health through exercise and diet, along with adding reading as a routine activity. Girl Scouts is committed to providing fun, dynamic and interactive experience for girls to attain practical life skills related to healthy living, reading, writing and communicating through national proficiency badges and resources.

View more photos from the day here.

Gold Award Spotlight: Environmental Education

Megan, a Girl Scout Ambassador from Poquoson, has earned the Girl Scout Gold Award, which is the highest honor and achievement in Girl Scouting. For her project, Megan focused on educating preschool and elementary school children about life and environmental sciences through a partnership with the Poquoson Public Library Butterfly Garden.

Megan worked with Girl Scout Junior Troop 1010 to help them paint shadow boxes depicting the life cycle of a butterfly that she placed in the garden as an informational resource for visitors. She also led the butterfly-themed week during the Poquoson Public Library summer reading program, where read stories, made crafts and sang songs with the children who attended.

Megan purchased live caterpillars that she placed in a net cage near the entrance of the library so that children visiting the library could watch them grow. When they emerged as butterflies, she and a group of children released them into the garden, which was a new learning experience for many of the children. She also created educational materials pertaining to the life cycle of a butterfly that are available as a community resource at the library’s circulation desk. 

Megan releases butterflies into the
garden at the Poquoson Public Library
with the help of local youth.

“Through my project, I introduced young children to the natural world and fostered in them a respect and curiosity for science, an appreciation for the environment and hopefully the desire to pursue careers in science,” Megan said.

Following her educational programs, Megan organized a fall and a winter clean up in the butterfly garden, and volunteers trimmed bushes, weeded and raked to help maintain the space for everyone to enjoy.

The Gold Award requires girls to identify an issue in their community and carry out a Take Action project to address the matter through leadership work. Nationwide, less than 6 percent of eligible Girl Scouts earn the Gold Award, which adds Megan to an elite group of female leaders across the country with the honor.

Suffolk Girl Scouts Earn Bronze Award for Literacy Project

Suffolk Girl Scouts Madison, Jessica, Amber, Sarah, Layne and Caroline from Troop 5563 recently earned the Girl Scout Bronze Award, the third highest award in Girl Scouting, and the top award Girl Scouts in grades 4 and 5 can earn. Through their project, the members of Troop 5563 sought to promote literacy among children in their community.

The girls were inspired to do their project while planning their World Thinking Day event, which is an annual event celebrated by Girl Scouts to recognize their sister Girl Scouts and Girl Guides in other countries around the world. The theme for World Thinking Day this year centered on the idea that education opens doors for children. With this in mind, the girls decided to make a difference in education through literacy.

The members of Troop 5563 hosted book drives at several schools, businesses and churches in Suffolk, through which they collected over 200 books. One of the organizations that they supported through their book drive was the West End Baptist Church Book Buddies program, which is an afterschool tutoring program for children who struggle with reading. The girls were invited to a tutoring session to see how students were learning and how their book donation would make a positive impact on the program.

The girls had also collected adult reading level books that they decided to donate to the USO of Hampton Roads to give to soldiers. The troop members were already familiar with the mission of the USO after donating Girl Scout Cookies to the organization earlier in the year, and they were eager to show support for the military again.

The girls hope that their donations make a difference in the lives of the children in the Book Buddies program and make someone’s day a little better through their donation to the USO. Through this project, the troop has learned about teamwork, commitments and appreciating what they have.

Sarah, Jessica, Layne and Caroline from Troop 5563.
Not pictured: Madison and Amber

Black History Month Read-a-Thon

Girl Scouts Jordan and Marvetta
read about Coretta Scott King at the
Read-a-Thon hosted by their troop.

A group of 10 Girl Scouts from Troop 329 gathered at the Dr. Clarence V. Cuffee Library in Chesapeake on February 8 to host their second annual Black History Month Read-a-Thon for children in the South Norfolk community. The girls, who are in grades 3 to 6, carefully selected their favorite Black History Month books to read to children at the library. They also set up reading response activities for the children to make character puppets out of brown paper bags, write about what they learned from the book and draw scenes from the stories they heard.

The Girl Scouts, who invited all children at the library to participate in the Read-a-Thon, also set up stations for children to decorate key chains, make snowflakes, play games and win prizes. The Girl Scouts were each responsible for setting up and running the stations.

Through this project, Girl Scout Troop 329 is addressing the issue of illiteracy that is affects people around the world. In the United States, some 30 percent of all 17 year olds are functionally illiterate. By offering children the opportunity to participate in activities that reinforce literacy skills through fun and interactive experiences, Girl Scouts are working to make an impact on this issue by making reading and writing fun activities.

Girl Scouts Catori and Anaiya work on paper bag puppets
after reading stories about famous African Americans.

Literacy has been a fundamental part of Girl Scouting's informal education program activities since its founding over 100 years ago. This is just one of the many benefits of the Girl Scout Leadership Experience. Research shows that girls with enriched literacy skills, such as those obtained in Girl Scouting, attain higher levels of education, as well as higher-paying and more satisfying jobs, and are more likely to hold leadership positions in their communities. Girls who are reading at or above age level are also less likely to engage in risky behaviors.

At Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast, we recognize that the ability to read, write and communicate has never been more crucial. If girls and women are to thrive in this information age, they must become lifelong learners so that they will have the ability to build knowledge and skills. This fall, our Girls Who Read Lead membership campaign helped us to share the ways that Girl Scouts continues to place a high priority on giving girls the opportunity to develop good reading skills. This includes badges and awards that girls can earn from completing Girl Scout Journeys, such as It's Your Story- Tell It!

To learn more about how Girl Scouting supports academic achievement and engagement, read the Girl Scout Research Institute's study, Linking Leadership to Academic Success: The Girl Scout Difference.