Ritu's Gold Award
Fast Forward
August 17th 2015 - Diversity and Culture Presentation
Today I headed to the MLK Center for the first time with my volunteer and fellow Girl Scout, Grace, to give a presentation on diversity and French culture. I started off my presentation by asking the 75 students about what they previously knew about culture and teaching them about diversity and its importance. Because I speak French and have traveled to France, I decided to have a focal on French culture and Mardi Gras for the remainder of the speaking. I taught them some basics of the language and we discussed Mardi Gras traditions in the US. We then went along to play bingo, but with a French twist by calling it "Loto". After rewarding all the winners with traditonal Mardi Gras beads, the kids split up into their classrooms and we all created Mardi Gras masks with feathers and jewels. Lastly, the afternoon ended with some French snacks- a piece of baguette, a mini eclair and a sugar cookie. From the happy faces I saw after the masks and food were given out, I can infer that the kids enjoyed the day. They were even super excited I would be back the next week! I think it's safe to say that the first presentation for my Gold Award project was successful.
Event Updates!
August 27th 2015 - Backpack Delivery and Recap
For the past two months after networking with friends, family, neighbors, local retailers and online businesses, I finally finished my school supply collection. I received an overwhelming amount of donations, more than my projected goal. Initially I hoped to fill up 100 backpacks with school supplies but after counting all the items, I had discovered I had enough supplies for 120. It was definitely not an easy journey to gather all the supplies. I learned that networking with others is a lot of work and it requires several forms of communication and lots of patience. Along with directly receiving donations from people, I had the opportunity to set up collection boxes at my dentist's office, my dad's workplace and my neighborhood. I was surprised with all the generous donations I received when I picked them up. After I got all my supplies, I began to fill up the 100 bags. Each bag consisted of items such as pencils, markers, pens, erasers, folders, notebooks, etc. Since I realized I had leftover items, I decided to create an additional basket with supplies for the center. A few days after I finished filling the bags, I brought them over to the MLK Center. I wished the kids good luck for the school year and passed them around. The children were excited to see the colorful supplies and goodies in the bags. I would not have been able to fulfill my goal without help from all the donors so I give a big thanks to all those who helped out!
August 26th 2015 - Summer Carnival
After days and hours of preparation since June of 2015, the biggest event of my Gold Award project had finally arrived. I had planned a carnival for the 75 kids at the MLK center to end off their summer camp with some fun. This was a crazy and new experience for me. I never thought I would be planning such a big event to run on my own. In order for my carnival to be successful, I needed supplies, food, games and most importantly, volunteers! I went around to different retailers, friends and family to collect donations for my carnival for items such as snacks and games. Luckily, I received a decent amount of donations to help. Along with the donations, lots of networking was involved as I had to gather volunteers for my event. After several text messages, phone calls and emails, I was lucky to get 14 friends and Girl Scouts to volunteer for the carnival. The days leading up to the carnival were filled with packing, organizing, planning stations and prizes, counting, creating signs and mentally preparing for the event. I split the day into two sessions, crafts in the morning and games in the afternoon. My morning volunteers were awesome and ran the photo booth, nametag, goodie bag and tattoo station. My afternoon volunteers were super interactive while running game stations, including bean bag tosses, duck pond, ping pong toss, ring toss, knock the bottles, etc. At the end of each session I provided snacks for the kids, such as cookies and popcorn. When the event was over, I surprised the campers with Rita's Ice and balloons. The kids were excited for the sweet treat to end off the warm day. I was so glad that my carnival was a success and the kids enjoyed the many games and prizes I offered. I could not have had this carnival without the help of the MLK Center staff, my mom, my troop advisor and my amazing volunteers! This was the turning point during my project for me because I could clearly see the progress!
November 13th 2015 - Philanthropy and Giving Back Presentation
For this program, I spent my time with the youngest kids in the center, those in kindergarten and preschool. I had a casual yet interactive presentation about giving back and saying thanks. It just so happened that Thanksgiving was one week away from today, so the topic was perfect for the occasion! I started off by asking the young ones what they knew about giving back and charity. Then, we went along and talked about times they ever gave back to someone and how they did so. I was impressed to hear that many of them had done some community service and they were knew how important it was to help others out. Our last topic was about giving thanks and who to give thanks to. For our activity, the kids made thank you cards to soldiers and veterans, which I am going to send out during the holidays. The kids learned that even little acts of kindness and thanks go a long way. I rewarded the kids with respect tokens and candy for their work and thank you cards. Hopefully, the soldiers will love them!
November 20th 2015 - Anti Bullying and Cyberbullying Presentation
This event was catered towards the higher elementary school kids, in grades 2-5. I thought that it was important for kids to learn about anti-bullying and cyberbulling because the subject becomes more prominent as they grow up and are exposed to more technology. I first started the program off by asking the kids what they knew about bullying and different examples of it. We then progressed to talk about bystanders and other terminology in bullying. The children always shot up their hands when I asked a question which showed me that they knew the information and were interested in the conversation. We ended that portion off with a segment about what to do when you or someone you see is being bullied. The second portion of the presentation was all about cyberbullying. I could tell that the kids were not as knowledgable about this topic because it was a new concept and they did not all have the option to use the computer and internet often. But, the information was valid as they would be introduced to it in the soon future. We again talked about the basics and examples of cyberbullying and I ended the talking portion of the presentation by giving the students 4 basic steps to follow when cyberbullying occurs: Stop, Block, Report and Save. The final portion of the presentation was the interactive craft. I created a large poster with a pledge to "Be a Buddy, Not a Bully". Each kid in the class decorated a cut-out hand with their name, which signifies them taking the pledge. The craft and other reference posters I made were given to the class and immediately posted on the wall. Lastly, I gave the kids some stickers with anti-bullying messages on them along with some healthy snacks. The teacher of the class really appreciated the time and effort I put into the presentation and I'm glad it was a success!
