For their Bronze Award project, Junior Girl Scout Troop 13372 had to come up with a new way to help people in need.
Their idea: pillows.
“Pillows are comforting,” said scout Corinne Graunstadt. “If you’re in trouble, you want something comfortable, something nice.”
Graunstadt and fellow scouts Marianna Angelosanto, Heather Burrum, Kelly Cousino, Chandler Deering, Katya Dominguez, Mackenzie Hinds, Cassie Marcola, Hannah McLaughlin, Claire Morawski, Cleo Scott, Janet Sidaway, and Autumn Whitley, with Troop Leader Nancy Sidaway, raised $515 to buy 55 pillows and 110 pillowcases.
The girls decided on two pillowcases per pillow. The extra is for laundry day or for use as an extra suitcase in an emergency.
“We wanted to help people in need,” Janet said. “We sold soaps and barrettes at a craft sale, and we held a bake sale. People gave us donations.”
“One person gave us $5,” McLaughlin said.
“I’m glad we got a good deal on all the pillows,” said Burrum.
Graunstadt and her mother make homemade pillows, but knew they could provide more if they just bought them.
“Making our own would cost a lot,” she said.
They raised $110 in a bottle drive as part of the pillow project. The pillows and pillowcases were all donated to Lighthouse North.
The project took 15 hours of planning and fund-raising work.
“It was a huge project,” Nancy said.
The Bronze Award is the highest honor for Junior Girl Scouts. As Cadette Girl Scouts, they can earn the Silver Award, then the Gold Award, the highest in Girl Scouts.