Girl Scout Troop Supports Senior Community Members with Silver Award Project
Each year in September National Senior Center Month is celebrated, shining a light on senior centers and showing the nation how vital they are to the health and well-being of a community. Driven by their desire to bring joy to seniors, Girl Scout Troop 4127 jumped into action to create special moments of joy for senior residents in their area to earn their Girl Scout Silver Award.
Troop members, Mia Eickhoff, Charlotte Jennings, Melanie Kruse, Martha Poppen, Anna Bass and Vivian McGuire worked with two retirement homes, Rockwood Senior Living and Bethesda Orchards for their project. They visited the facilities and hosted multiple game and BINGO nights. These special nights were themed around holidays or a specific season and included photo booths, refreshments, and entertainment. The troop also hosted a mini performance art series for the residents, where they created original performance pieces including songs, dancing, skits and instrumental concerts.
During these events, the troop not only bonded with the residents but helped enhance their mental well-being through personal interactions, giving the seniors an opportunity to discover and navigate new friendships with members of a younger generation.
The troop plans to continue visiting the senior centers throughout the coming year, while enlisting the help of additional area Girl Scout troops so they can expand their events for the residents.
“When visiting our friends at Bethesda and Rockwood, the best part was the smile on their faces,” said Girl Scout Mia Eickhoff. “It made all the hard work I put into each event so unbelievably worth it.”
“What struck me was how many of the residents had Girl Scout memories so rich in history that they just wanted to share,” said troop co-leader Michelle Emnett-Eickhoff. “One lady said she was camping when WWII ended, so all of their parents were calling the supervisor just to tell their daughters the good news.”
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.
