Sure, girl scouts sell mouth-watering cookies, wear cute vests, and go camping under starry summer nights. But did you also know they problem-solve, scouring their communities for issues they can tend to? This kind of selfless community service is exactly what the Forkston Girl Scout Troop is all about, and what they are currently up to in Tunkhannock, PA while working towards their Bronze Award.
In order to obtain the Bronze Award, the Junior girl scouts, ages 9 to 11, must identify areas of improvement within the local community, work together on a project to solve one of the issues, and overall make a positive impact. Before they begin to work towards the award, the girls complete a Journey, earning badges by learning new skills that prepare them for the task of their Bronze Award project.
After observing the Tunkhannock community for a couple of weeks and brainstorming areas of improvement, Forkston’s Junior Girl Scout Troop settled upon the issue of the Tunkhannock Area Intermediate Center’s playground for their Bronze Award project. The school, grades 3 to 6, has a jungle gym and a gaga pit donated by boy scouts, but no playground equipment like sport balls, jump ropes, or chalk. When the girl scouts noticed this dilemma in their observation of the community, they did a survey with their peers that inquired about their interests in sports and recess activities. Through the survey, they discovered that their classmates desired to throw around footballs, bounce a basketball, or jump rope at recess, among other activities needing equipment. Once receiving this information, the Forkston Girl Scouts knew exactly what they wanted to do for their Bronze Award project: raise funds for a shed at the playground that will house sporting equipment for recess.
Girl scout Sadie Conrad, a Junior entering fifth grade, expresses her enthusiasm: “I’m really excited about this project because it’s going to be super fun to work on with my troop! I hope it helps make our school a better place by adding things we can all play with at recess. Plus, it’ll be awesome to see everyone happy with the changes!”
Now, the girls are asking for our help as a community to make their project come to life. So far, the troop held two fundraisers in November 2023—a soup dinner and an overnight camp—to support their ambitious endeavor, but with the hope of completing the project in August/September, more funds are needed to achieve their desired result.
You can Venmo @forkstongirlscouts or call Davina Dunlap at 570-441-3007 to donate. The troop is also welcome to donations of wood for the shed’s platform, shelving, sporting goods, and totes to contain the sporting equipment. The Amazon wish list link below offers a variety of goods the troop is looking for; you can purchase right through the link and the items will be sent to Davina Dunlap.
This is a great opportunity to better our community and invest in the activities of our youth!
Article written by: Ashley Kenia, Wyoming County Chamber Summer Intern
