Eastern Missouri Girl Scouts Support Emotional Wellness Among Peers
World Mental Health Day, first established in 1992 by the World Federation of Mental Health (WFMH), is celebrated globally as a time to advocate for mental health and continue to learn about this important topic as a society. On October 10, as the conversation on Mental Health continues to evolve, Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri recognize two Silver Award Girl Scouts who took action to support their peers in emotional wellness.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the mental health of children and teens was impacted due to at-home isolation and little socialization. To earn their Silver Award, Azaria Spearman and Mikayla Woods created a website that gave access to different resources to ease their stress and anxiety. Some of the topics their website explored were yoga, meditation, and baking. Their project aimed to educate middle school teens on coping techniques and activities that can give them control over their mind, body, and soul and positively impact their mental health. These young leaders also set up a writing station in their school café so students could make kindness notecards. Students are encouraged to pick up a card if they are having a bad day or need a kind message. Spearman and Woods also created a flyer distributed by the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) that discussed mental health statistics and available resources.
“Earning Girl Scouts Highest Awards has taught me to find an issue that is meaningful, develop a support network, and find solutions,” said Woods. “I would encourage others to complete their Highest Awards because it shows that you can turn your passion or an idea into something that can help and impact people in so many ways. And as a Girl Scout, you can make a difference at any age.”
The Girl Scout Silver Award is the highest honor a Girl Scout Cadette, girls in 6th-8th grade can achieve. It requires girls to identify a need in their community and dedicate on average more than 50 hours towards addressing and solving the issue. When Girl Scout Cadettes focus on an issue, they care about, learn the facts, take action to make a difference, and they gain the confidence and skills that catapult them to lifelong success.
