Two Girl Scouts from Troop 173 are celebrating a job well done after they completed a makeover of the music closet at Sycamore Middle School. The renovation is part of their Silver Project, which is currently under review by Girl Scout leaders. Troop Leader Rhonda Williams said the scouts saw the need to help their former music teacher Erin Elgass, and they brainstormed a way to organize the sheet music and other items in the closet off the band room last month.
Savannah Williams, 14, and Carissa Adams, 15, built shelves, painted walls, and fixed the vanity, Williams said. The scouts also put in a music sign as a finishing touch. The troop leader (and proud mom of Savannah) said Elgass was very excited and really pleased with the results.
While the scouts did get some help from family and friends, they already had learned a lot of the skills they needed for the makeover like woodworking. “Girl Scouts teaches them things they may not otherwise learn how to do,” Williams said. Besides the financial abilities the scouts learn in cookie sales, they also train in becoming leaders and learning survival methods like how to cook over a fire.
“It teaches them how to take care of themselves and learn life skills that will carry them all through life,” she said. As a troop leader, Williams said she gets a lot of satisfaction seeing the scouts accomplish what they set out to do.
“I get my enjoyment from watching them learn,” she said. Williams added that she feels that scouting gives them an opportunity to have fun and support each other. “I’m in it for the girls, just so they can have somewhere to be a kid.”
Girl Scouts helps the young women be active in the community, too, Williams said. “If you have the girls active in the community, they can help other young ladies develop their skills and become mentors. The scouts are learning leadership qualities they can take to their schools and their jobs,” she explained.
To learn more about the Girl Scouts, go to www.girlscouts.org.
