Guest Blogger Amy-Jayne McCabe
By completing the aMUSE journey, Medford Cadette Troop 71198 members discovered they had many talents. Then through their Bronze Award project, they found a way to share those talents with each other and their community. Their project addressed the need for companionship among older community residents, so they planned, produced and directed a musical variety show geared toward the elderly. Complete with musical numbers from their elders’ generation, the show featured the girls dancing and singing old Broadway numbers, Chubby Checker hits and patriotic tunes. The girls worked hard and the project went very well.
It became so much more than just a service project and the girls learned it also was an exercise in team building, communication, collaboration, compromise, courage, encouragement, brainstorming, achieving a goal, connecting with their peers, teaching others a skill, and sharing your talents — all qualities of a great leader. The point of this project was for them to learn to use these fundamental skills to make a lasting impact on their community, and to know how to use these skills again in the future.
The morning after their show, we received an email from the director of the Visiting Nurse Association, who said she got an overwhelming response from the residents on how great the girls’ performance was.
A goal of the Bronze Award project was to meet new people and recognize the kind of fun that happens when you work with other Girl Scouts to make a difference. The girls plan to visit the residents again. They are spreading the word about their show to their Parish community and want to encourage others to remember and visit the elderly in their community.
Amy-Jayne McCabe is from Medford and was Troop 71198’s co-leader during their Bronze Award project.
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