Buffalo Grove Girl Scouts achieve Bronze Award
Girl Scout Troop 45133 from St. Mary School in Buffalo Grove found an innovative way to overcome restrictions at a local senior community. They interacted with residents by painting cheerful scenes on the outside of their windows.
Three members of the Junior troop, Ellie Prins, Gigi Seribo and Hannah Baker, have been working on their Bronze Award by adopting Addolorata Villa in Wheeling throughout the school year. Activities have included window painting, creating valentines and a Christmas radio play.
The three Junior Girl Scouts identified a need in the community - senior citizens who are lonely due to restrictions on visitors this year - and then set out to address that need through their Bronze Award project, the highest award for Girl Scout Juniors. They brainstormed ways to interact with residents of Addolorata Villa while still remaining distanced from each other and the residents.
When the fifth-grade Girl Scouts painted cheerful scenes on the outside of windows, residents and the girls were able to interact with a smile and a wave.
"I think the seniors appreciated us decorating their windows in person. They got a visit from kids and artwork to look at for a while," said Hannah. "By coming back multiple times, they also had something to look forward to."
The girls have completed the Bronze Award requirements and will receive the award during Girl Scout Week in March, but they will continue to "visit" the residents when they return again to paint the windows through the spring.
This project was especially close to one Girl Scout's heart because her grandmother lives in the senior community.
"I think the best part of window painting was seeing senior citizens in the window, and them knowing someone was thinking of them," said Gigi. "I especially liked that we went to my grandma's window."
The girls hope to have an impact outside their chosen senior community. Ellie created a webpage with a "how-to" guide for those wishing to do a similar project at other communities. She used the coding skills she learned to earn the Girl Scout STEM badge, coupled with content from the troop's Bronze project, to create a webpage that can benefit other senior communities.
Members of Stevenson High School's Girl Scout Troop 40666 have been using the younger Scouts' idea to reach out to senior citizens in Buffalo Grove. The juniors are busy working on their Girl Scout Gold Awards, but felt inspired to give additional service by painting windows for Valentine's Day and decorating place mats for Belmont Village.
The Girl Scouts of Troop 45133 recommend this project for others, "as it was a fairly easy task to do as long as it isn't raining or freezing." Hannah said. "It benefits both of us, the artists and the seniors."