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Girls impac
through Take Action projects
The Bronze Award, Silver Award, and Gold Award represent the highest honors a Girl Scout can earn. All three awards
give Girl Scouts the chance to do big things while tackling an issue they care about. The process of earning each award
allows girls to discover their own inspiration and share it with others. At the end, each girl has learned something about
herself while taking action and making her corner of the world—and beyond—a better place.
Girl Scout Silver Award
for Cadette Girl Scouts (girls in grades 6-8)
With a shared interest in computer science and robotics,
Sareeja Yellapragada and Lydia Cwalina worked together
on a Silver Award Take Action project that would give
children in their community ways to learn more about
the fields. The girls worked with their local library in
Beaver County to host a robotics workshop for children
ages six to 10. They researched other robotics lessons
through the library and by talking to other instructors.
They learned numerous programs for the robots, named
Dot and Dash. Using their experience in Girl Scouts to
“learn by doing,” the girls developed a curriculum that
was engaging and educational.
To earn their Bronze Award, Troop 52301 worked together to create dry erase
boards from old DVD cases to help students at a local special needs school learn
and practice their language and writing skills.
Girl Scout Bronze Award
for Junior Girl Scouts (girls in grades 4-5)
Nine Girl Scouts from Troop 52301 chose to help the
students at Sunrise School, a division of Allegheny
Intermediate Unit serving students with special needs
from ages five to 21, by creating dry erase boards from
old DVD cases.
To help the students with language and writing skills,
the girls printed out basic words on cardstock and
slid the paper underneath the clear plastic of the DVD
case, creating an instant dry-erase surface. The girls
created 100 dry erase boards for the school.
“The girls learned how to look around their homes for
things that could be used for something else,” said
Jamie Difrancesca, a troop leader for Troop 52301. “They
also learned that they could do something fairly simple
and quickly that can still make a big difference.”
The girls collected DVD cases from home, and they
purchased more from the Pittsburgh Center for
Reuse. The purchased cases, dry erase markers, and
cardstock were paid for with the troop’s proceeds from
the Girl Scout Cookie Program.
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Girl Scouts Western Pennsylvania 2017-2018 Annual Report
“The girls made the program fun, rewarding the
participants with candy and making the educational
lessons seem more like games,” said project advisor
Kristen Janci, also the youth services librarian.
“I discovered and deepened my love for computer science
and for teaching,” said Cwalina. “I also learned that many
people are willing to help you if you just ask.”
At left, Lydia Cwalina and at right, Sareeja Yellapragada designed and facilitated
a robotics workshop for their local library as part of their Silver Award Take
Action project.