Bears at heart of Scout's project
Published 12:18 pm Thursday, December 11, 2008
By Brenda Sexton
The Courier-Herald
Jennifer Fink is proud of the girls in her Girl Scout Junior Troop No. 3184, not only for putting in the long, hard hours that earned them the Bronze Award, but for what they picked up along the way.
"In this process, they learned a lot about themselves, and taught me a lot about myself as well," Fink said. "I am very proud of them. It took them a long time. They worked very hard and more than earned that award."
The Bronze Award is the highest award a Junior Girl Scout can earn. To earn a Bronze Award, Girl Scouts must make a promise to others, improve their community and work at being the best they can.
Ivy Acord, Sherry Baer, Kerri Crampton, Candace Denney, Brianne Fink, TaylorAnn LaValley, Joslyn Lynch, Brianna Pollock, Ashlee Trulson, Dannielle Vorak and Shyennne Wessilius will receive the Bronze Award.
It took the troop almost two years to satisfy the award's prerequisites, and then many months to complete the project - making teddy bears by hand, 70 to be exact, which they donated to the Enumclaw Police Department's Cops For Kids program and to Plateau Outreach Ministries.
The first step in the award is to brainstorm a project. The girls decided to make teddy bears that community programs could use to make other children feel safe and loved.
"We should give them something they can hug and hold on to," said Brianne Fink, a fifth-grader at J.J. Smith Elementary in Enumclaw.
"So when kids are there they won't get lonely, and when they are scared they will have something to hug tight," said TaylorAnn LaValley, a fifth-grader at Wilkeson Elementary.
Both girls started in the program five years ago as Brownies and were excited about receiving their Bronze Award, which will help them make the leap to Cadette, the next step in Girl Scouts.
Once Jennifer Fink found a pattern, the girls' work began - cutting the patterns out, sewing them together and stuffing each bear.
Along the way they earned two badges related to the project. One was for "my community" and the other for sewing. They also learned about leadership and earned the Junior Aide Patch and Junior Girl Scout Leadership Award.
The girls received their Bronze Award during a recent ceremony. Earlier, they received a letter from the Girl Scout Council congratulating them on their accomplishment.
Brenda Sexton can be reached at bsexton@cmg-northwest2.go-vip.net/courierherald.
