Alyssa McCullough of Santa Clara, Noelle Dea of Mountain View, Gigi Mitchell of San Jose, and Amani Abukhater of Cupertino, four members of homeschool Girl Scout troop 60425 completed their Bronze Award last Saturday when they delivered 75 pounds of donated items to the Santa Clara County Animal Shelter.
“It was a lot of work,” said Mitchell.
“But we had fun working on it together,” added Dea.
In September of 2011, the girls of troop 60425 discussed their interests and skill sets. They researched different volunteer opportunities in the area and voted on their top picks. The girls chose to collect donations for the animal shelter.
Each girl was assigned a job from designing collection signs to calling and arranging a donation location. Over the course of nine months, the four 4th and 5th graders were able to contact members of the various communities with which they are involved. They posted signs, manned collection tables, and collected 10 large bags of towels, blankets, food dishes, and toys for the shelter.
After sorting and loading the donations, they delivered the bags to the Santa Clara County Animal Shelter on May 4. They were given a tour of the facility in San Martin by Albert Escobar, Program Manager for the County of Santa Clara Animal Care and Control, who was “gratified and excited” to see the results of the work they had done.
The Girl Scout Bronze Award is the highest award a Junior Girl Scout (4th and 5th grade) can earn. The award represents a commitment to making a difference in the community. It offers each girl a unique opportunity to affect powerful, positive change while fostering individual leadership skills.