Girl Scout Silver Award projects not only benefit the greater community, but they also each have their own special meaning for both the Girl Scouts and the benefiting organization or people. The members of Girl Scout Troop 1962 chose a cause that was meaningful for them—they knew that they wanted to work with disadvantaged children, because they realized that not everyone had the same opportunities and possessions they did.

The girls dedicated their Girl Scout Silver Award Project by planning a carnival for the children at Sarah’s House, a local shelter that provides food, lodging, and support for those in need.

To plan the Sarah’s House Carnival, the girls divided up into three committees: games, prizes/activities, and food.

Girl Scout Bella, who worked on the games committee, said the project helped her troop work together.

“As a troop I think we learned how to work together more because this is a really big project and we all had to help each other out with everything,” she said. “Each committee had their own project to work on and then we all had to come together and put everything together.”

In addition to working together to plan their project, the girls had to think quickly and adapt to unexpected circumstances during the event.

“We were told most of the kids who would be attended were 5 to 7 years old. It ended up that most of them were really little or older—around our age,” Girl Scout Annabelle, who also served on the games committee, said. “We had to adapt our games once we got there to fit the ages better. We had to think quickly!”

The girls hard work paid off in the end: “Once we got there we had set everything up and everyone was smiling and having fun,” Annabelle said.

“It was great seeing how happy all of the kids were with the games we planned,” Bella added.

Both Bella and Annabelle said they plan to complete their Girl Scout Gold Awards in the future, and said they will use what they learned while planning the Sarah’s House Carnival.

“Your project will be successful if you work together with your team and have a project everyone can really put all their effort into,” Bella said. “A fun project will help you be successful.”

Annabelle agreed that picking a cause you care about is important.

“It’s more than just an award,” she said. “It’s important to focus on the people you are helping.”