FORT JACKSON, S.C. (Sept. 18, 2014) -- Four Fort Jackson Girl Scout Cadettes earned their Silver Award last week. Abbigail Osterhout, Lily Montoya, Lucy Sonsalla, and Brieanna Wangsness are all dependents of Fort Jackson and Shaw Air Force Base service members.
Earning the Silver Award takes a lot of dedication and a willingness to work hard, try new things and be flexible. The Silver Award is the highest award that can be earned by a Cadette Girl Scout. Cadettes must complete an age-level leadership journey before working on the Silver Award. Completing this journey helps girls stock their toolkit full of communication skills and added confidence. With the honed skills, Cadettes may work individually or in a small group to complete the Silver Award. The Fort Jackson Cadettes chose to work in a small group. A typical Silver Award involves at least 50 hours of service per girl. To earn the award, girls must discover a need in the community and develop a sustainable solution.
In May, the group brainstormed and came up with the idea to not only work toward their Silver Award, but to update their meeting space as well. For their "take action" project, they decided on improving and developing the common area around the scout hut as well as a beautification of the gardens in front of the scout hut, the police station on Parker Lane, and the Child, Youth and School Services child care facility on Parker Lane. The Girl Scouts came up with the project name "Peace by Piece."
The project was based on the Girl Scout promise to "help people at all times" and the parts of the Girl Scout law that states, "Use resources wisely, be responsible for what I say and do, and to be courteous and kind." Based on these principles, the girls came up with another part of the project that included painting puzzle pieces that represent the organizations who have buildings on Parker Lane, to include all levels of Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, and CYSS. Each organization was given a puzzle piece to paint and then the piece was hung on the scout hut wall as a decorative element, but also to remind everyone who enters that when people work together and create a community people are also creating peace. The girls worked all summer on their project to complete their Silver Award, but they also spent many hours repainting and updating their meeting area upstairs at The Sparkle House.
All in all, the girls each completed more than 70 hours of work this summer.
From left, Abbigail Osterhout, Lucy Sonsalla, Lily Montoya and Brieanna Wangsness celebrate the Girl Scouts Silver Awards they earned during the summer.
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