Gold Girl Spotlight: Claire Kurio

Introducing Claire!
It’s always an honor to share the accomplishments of our Girl Scouts and today we’re highlighting Claire Kurio. Always striving to fulfill the Girl Scout Promise to help people at all times, Claire created an opportunity for fellow youth to serve their community through the Interfaith Hospitality Network. We could go on and on about Claire’s amazing Gold Girl project, but we’ll let her tell you more!

A Rewarding Journey

My name is Claire Kurio and I’ve been a member of Troop 484 in the Bluebonnet Valley service unit for almost 12 years now. I worked on my bronze and silver awards, completed a journey and have just recently finalized my Gold project. I would encourage all girl scouts to complete each project and award opportunity along the way because it really prepares you for the 80+ hour Gold Award later in high school.

Leading With Faith

For my project, I added a high school youth volunteer component to an already very successful program called Interfaith Hospitality Network (IHN). IHN includes over 30 host churches, temples, synagogues, etc. in the Austin area that welcome homeless families into their buildings and congregations for 4-5 weeks each year. These families are able to stay free of charge while they meet with counselors and advisers helping them look for a stable job that can fully support their family again. While the program already used adult volunteers to set-up for their stay, provide dinner to the families each night, stay overnight with the families, do laundry, etc., none of these positions catered to the children. I saw the need for this component after volunteering with my parents to take dinner each time IHN visited Covenant Presbyterian Church over the past 5 years. Each time I noticed that the homeless parents were tired from a long days work or searching for work and wanted to relax, while their kids were longing for attention and someone to hang out with after school!

Getting Others Involved 

I recruited high school volunteers from the Covenant Pres youth group along with National Honor Society students from Anderson High School who volunteered 1-2 hours of their night during IHN’s stay at Covenant to hang out with, mentor and tutor the homeless children. Additionally, as part of my project, I provided a supply box with school supplies, board games and balls for the volunteers and kids to enjoy. The youth volunteer component of IHN will be sustained by the Covenant Student ministries for many years to come!

You Can Do it Too! 

My advice is to pick something you love and are extremely passionate about. I built incredible friends with these homeless kids during their stay and I wanted to give my peers an opportunity to do the same!  But most importantly, choose something that you personally see a need in. It’s crucial that you believe what you are doing is worthwhile and seeing the direct impact afterwards is the best feeling in the world.

Shed the old: How Emilee Remodeled her Band's Storage Area

Gold Award Girls

The following entry was written by Emilee Ward, who took on the task of remodeling the band for the Lake Travis Cavaliers. She wanted to improve her high school campus and help the band and that she did! Read about her Gold Award project below:

________________________________________________________________________

I choose this project because I love being a member of the Lake Travis Cavalier band – it is like a family to me.  The shed was definitely a project that someone needed to tackle because it was an eye sore for our campus and it was a complete mess.  I knew that with help from my fellow troop member, Ashley, we could turn the shed into great project that would give us pride, help the band, and improve our school.

At first, we wanted to replace the building with a new one, but after researching the cost to take down the old building, prepare the land, deal with the electrical and plumbing and the cost of a new building, it was out of our budget.  So we decided to remodel the building instead.  When we decided this, it was like having to start planning a whole new project.

We also faced a challenge when our band our director stepped down and left working for Lake Travis. This put a pause in our plans, because we had to wait for a new director and start all over with getting approval from him and the school district.

Another obstacle we had to overcome was the bases of our awnings. We initially thought that we could dig holes and sink the wood supports in the hole and fill it in with concrete. But when we called the city, using the 311 system, we found there here were electric and water lines underground – so we had to revise our plan.  It is important when digging to make sure there are no plumbing or electrical lines in the path of the hole!

Our budget given to us from the LT Band Parents, Inc. was budgeted at $500. Because we had decided to remodel, we needed more financial help.  Our parents visited several businesses around the community (Lowe’s, Muller, All Seasons Landscaping, The Home Depot, Sherwin Williams and The Brown Paint Company).  We were given materials such as wood, hardware, sheet metal, paint, copper tubing (for the faucets), concrete blocks and many other items.  We were lucky to have such generous businesses in our area.

I believe I have learned a lot from this project!

Working together:  being able to work with Ashley really taught me to keep up my end of the project and the importance of working together as a team to get things done.

Responsibility:  this was really important because I kept up with everything I was responsible for, like keeping track of the budget and the time log. 

Meeting Deadlines:   this year we really had to be done with the shed and done with building and painting by band camp that way it was fully functioning to benefit the band. 

Communication:  I really learned how important communication through setting up meetings and emailing the Principal and other band parents who used the shed for storage of food, water and other supplies.  

Select a project that is important to you, and that you know you will be proud to be a part of, because it makes the project so much more fun and keeps you motivated.  Definitely keep a time log of your work while you work, because you will forget what and when did it!  Finally, take lots of pictures because the before and after is so fun to look and helps show how much you project really contributes.                                                                                                                         

Breaking Bad Eating Habits- One girl teaches youths about healthy lifestyle choices

Gold Award Girls

The following entry was written by Elizabeth Twichell, who was the mastermind behind the nutrition program "Breaking Bad Eating Habits!" Her project was designed to increase awareness of the impact of good dietary choices within a healthy lifestyle. Keep reading to find out about her motivation, challenges and how she overcame them.

__________________________________________________________________________

The summer before my senior year of high school, I completed my Girl Scout Gold Award project with Breakthrough Austin, an organization that helps middle school students from low-income backgrounds be the first in their families to graduate from college. I selected this project because I was familiar with Breakthrough through its partnership with my high school and had volunteered as a mentor during my sophomore year. Consequently, I knew how the organization worked, what its strengths were, and what I felt was missing. Breakthrough already had a longstanding fitness program called "Breakthrough Gets Fit,” but, although exercise is crucial to a healthy lifestyle, nutrition must complement it in order to be truly healthy. So, over the course of 112 hours, I implemented a nutrition program into the summer session of Breakthrough Austin. My project, entitled “Break-ing Bad Eating Habits!” was designed to increase awareness of good nutritional practices, addressing topics like the importance of home cooking and reading nutrition labels. I presented my project through a series of 10 lessons at the University of Texas at Austin’s University Teaching Center and arranged to have the Healthy Lifestyles Chair of the Texas PTA come to relate healthy eating habits to academic performance. My nutrition program will be a key component of Breakthrough Austin’s summer program for years to come.

My goals in my project were to inspire youths from low-income families to improve their quality of life by eating healthier foods on a regular basis. Despite my careful planning, however, I encountered scheduling conflicts and technical issues throughout the course of the summer. A few days, I even arrived at the UTC and was told that I would be unable to present my lesson due to complications beyond my control. Since the nutrition program was new to Breakthrough this summer, the Breakthrough staff had to balance the original Breakthrough summer program with the schedule for my project. Consequently, plans sometimes changed and I had to be flexible. To ensure I was still able to cover enough material, I pushed back lessons a day or two, and prioritized which lessons I felt were the most important to present to the Breakthrough students.

Throughout my Gold Award project, I learned much about interacting with professionals, teaching students, creating lesson plans, public speaking, and efficient organization. My contact with Breakthrough staff and with the guest speaker I arranged taught me the proper etiquette used when working with professionals. While planning my lessons, I carefully designed outlines before making PowerPoint slides to maximize effective teaching in a short period of time. Sometimes I even rehearsed my lessons before presenting them so I wouldn’t falter while teaching the students. I developed an organized system for presenting each lesson, which included an introduction, a demonstration or interesting hook to attract the students’ attention, a series of key points, and a review assessment. Clearly, even though the students were supposed to be learning from me, I learned many invaluable lessons about myself that I will remember in the future.

For other Girl Scouts thinking about pursuing their Gold Award: Start early! More than half of the hours that went into my project were spent planning and organizing the resources needed, so it is always a good idea to start thinking about your project several months before you plan to put it into action. Choose a project you feel confident about doing with an organization you are familiar with. Lastly, don’t be intimidated of working with professionals, be patient and flexible with scheduling conflicts as they arise, and don’t forget to thank those who have helped you along the way!

Back to Basics: helping children experience nature

Gold Award Girls

The following entry was written by Nicolette Newton about her Gold Award project-- a hands-on booklet to help children experience nature--and how she accomplished it. Keep reading to find out her motivation to stick with Girl Scouting through the years and the impact it has made in her life.

__________________________________________________________________________

I started as a Daisy, at age five, not knowing at the time that Girl Scouts would have taken the course it did.

At first, Girl Scouts was all about earning badges, being with friends, and having fun, but then it became more; it was more about learning and growing. This was around the time that many girls were dropping out and saying it wasn’t cool, but I made my decision to stay. I remember reading an article in the newspaper about three close friends who earned their Gold Awards, which is so rare. I also remember thinking how cool it would be to stay in Girl Scouts and be as happy as they were in that picture. That was my “aha!” moment and my reason to stick with it. I think that was one of the first big decisions I made in life.

I chose to focus my Gold Award project at Candlelight Ranch because they have been an inspiration to me. CLR aids special needs and at-risk children, focuses heavily on the importance of the outdoors, and represents conservation in many of their projects.

My father is a member of the advisory committee for Candlelight Ranch and I have done many service camps at the Ranch, so the location was an obvious choice. Choosing my Gold Award project was another step along the path of my passion for helping others. It was a monumental goal, which I pursued enthusiastically. I’m also really handy with a computer and designing, so I wanted to pick a project that I could be very successful at. 

My goal was to create a hands-on booklet that helps children learn and experience nature. My goals were definitely met. 

I was faced with many challenges. My main obstacle was time management. It was my senior year when I focused on this project and time management was very difficult for me. One day, I spread all my notes out, organized layouts and buckled down. It was a very exciting and rewarding experience and I became very passionate about the outcome.

I’m glad I stuck with Girl Scouts for the adventure, fun times, learning experiences, and the discoveries I made about myself. I am so proud of having reached my goal, and completing my Gold Award. Not only did it enrich my past, but it will greatly impact my future. Being a Gold Award recipient is an honor and is well respected by colleges, employers, family and peers. It will open up opportunities, which would not have been accessible before. I believe this was a factor in my acceptance to Baylor University, where I am a freshman majoring in Graphic Design. 

I remember the days when I was selling cookies at Randall’s, going on campouts, wrapping presents at Brown Santa, designing and selling t-shirts, hosting a father/daughter dance, and so much more. It was a whirlwind of adventures and I wouldn’t take the experience back for anything. 

Advice I have for girls seeking their Gold Award is to have fun! Pursuing the Gold Award is a very rewarding and challenging experience. Keep in mind that organization, time management, budget and contacts are all important aspects of attaining a successful project. Most importantly, always believe in yourself, and just like the Olympic athletes, “Go for the Gold!”

Girl Scouts Help with Flood Relief

During the past weeks central Texas has received the some of the highest rainfall leading to the flooding of many homes. Troop 1594 saw the devastation and decided they needed to help out their community so they partnered with the Capital Area Food Bank to provide some relief.

For two weeks the girls collected healthy food options for the food bank which desperately needed contributions. The troop didn’t stop there--they volunteered with the food bank to distribute the items so they could see where their efforts went. The troop spent three hours passing out their collected items to those in need in the Cedar Creek area. It was an extremely moving experience for the troop and they were very happy to help the victims of the flood.

Way to go troop 1549!

Backpack Buddies is Gearing Up for Annual Drive

This happens to all troop leaders at some point: you're without a service project and you're fresh out of idea. Jen Neve was trying to find a service project for her then Girl Scouts to do during the holiday season. She had the idea to contact a foster care program for children to see if there was anything her girls could do for the children. The program told her the children often arrive with their few belongings in a trash bag and nothing more. They only asked for donations of backpacks.Jen was so overcome by their need she started to organize other troops to participate in the donation. Jen did not know at the time, but she was creating something much bigger than a one time service project: Backpack Buddies.

12 years later Backpack Buddies has continued to grow and is now serving homeless children and families in the Austin and Round Rock area. Jen gets names, ages and gender of the children from the Interfaith Hospitality Network (IHN) in order to guarantee every child gets a new backpack. Jen asks that individuals/troops fill backpacks with age appropriate goodies for the children and that they do not spend more than $50 on the backpack.

Toward the end of October  Jen will start to match up the troops with the children and will send out the child’s “About Me” information. The backpacks will need to be returned to her before December 8 so you have a whole month to get cracking! If you are interested in participating or want more information on how you can help contact Jen Neve at Jen_Neve@sbcglobal.net .

Girl Scouts Troop 2038 Thinks Outside of the Box!

When Patsy Sommer Elementary School needed a permanent collection box for clothing, Brownie Troop 2038 was there to help. One of the troop moms knew the girls could use their handy Girl Scout skills to make the box for the Round Rock Independent School District’s (RRISD) Clothes Closet Project.

During the summer, the girls and  troop parents worked on the box until it was ready for decoration. The girls then unleashed their creative side and gave the box some flair, earning their painting badge in the process. The troop presented the Clothes Closet donation dox to the principal of Sommer Elementary at the last PTA meeting. 

Brownie Troop 2038 hopes the box is just the beginning of a larger purpose-- helping collect clothing for students in need in RRISD.

Service projects like these wouldn't be possible without the help and encouragement that our adult volunteers provide. One of the many things that Girl Scouts do to improve the lives of the people in their community. Won't you be a part of it? Join today!

-Thanks Christine C. for the submission!