During school closures due to coronavirus, Girl Scout Troop 60729 from Thousand Oaks wanted to find a special way to congratulate their school’s graduating fifth graders. For their Bronze Award project, they put together culmination care packages for the students at Lang Ranch Elementary.

The Bronze Award is the highest honor a Girl Scout Junior can achieve. Girl Scouts Hailey Wang, Alyssa Poley, Leila Kirk, Caitlin Carter, Stella Yang, Livvie Elsokary, Lexie Joseph, and Jules Millies originally planned to help provide equipment and organizing supplies for the elementary school’s Physical Education Department. But when schools switched to remote learning, the troop switched plans to a project that could be completed while social distancing. The girls reached out to school principal, Dr. Sellars, about their new plan to send students off to their sixth-grade adventures on a positive note.

“The problem that our project addressed was that the fifth graders at our school do not get to have a regular culmination, so we made care packages to recognize them and how far they have come,” the troop said. “They missed out on a lot of fun things they were supposed to do, but we want to make sure they still get recognized for finishing elementary school. We put a magnetic clothespin for their lockers in each bag that had an inspirational quote card clipped in it for when they are having a bad day, or need something to remind them to keep their head up while in middle school.”

To make enough Congratulations Clips for the 120 students in the culminating class, each girl contributed 15 magnetic clips with an inspirational note. The troop hopes that when the time comes for middle school, students will use clips to hang up photos or notes in their lockers. “Our project brings positivity to the fifth graders going into middle school who might be having a bad day or who are nervous or anxious,” they said. “It also helps the students look at the bright side of things, have a good attitude, and a positive mindset.”

This isn’t the girls’ first time making a positive impact in their community. In the past, they have also made care packages for cancer patients, donated winter coats to low-income families, and made encouraging yard signs during the COVID-19 quarantine. “These are just a few examples of ways we made the world a better place,” the troop said. “For our Bronze Award project, we helped all of the 5th graders at our elementary school celebrate their culmination, even though they didn’t get their big ceremony. We discovered that it feels good to surprise others with something you made for them.”

The troop wants new sixth graders to remember how far they’ve come, that they don’t need to be the same as anyone else, and that they can overcome any obstacle they face. As a group, they learned the importance of teamwork, collaboration, commitment, and enthusiasm to complete a meaningful project.

We are so proud of all of the Girl Scouts who are working hard to make a positive impact in their communities. To learn more about the Bronze, Silver, and Gold Awards and how you can get started, visit here.