Scout troop’s Bronze Award project benefits library

By MEGANN HORSTEAD mhorstead@shawmedia.com

DeKALB – Ten-year-old Addi Wojda of DeKalb says she never could have imagined building a bookshelf until it became a reality recently as part of a service project benefitting her local library through Girl Scout Troop 466.

Wojda completed the project –meant to aid the troop’s pursuits of achieving a Bronze Award – with the help of five other students from St. Mary School and members of her troop. The Bronze Award is the highest award a Girl Scout Junior can achieve, akin to a Silver or Gold Award earned at a later age for high school-aged scouts.

For their service project, the group worked closely with troop leader Sylvia Christensen to construct what they call a “Guardian and Me Area,” which members described as a space equipped with bookshelf containing toys and games for young children and their parents to play with at the library.

Wojda said her favorite part of the service project was likely using the tools. She said it was “probably getting to drill the boards in” for the bookshelf.

“It was just pretty fun to drill it in,” Wojda said.

Troop 466 members who worked on the project included Eva Mangino, Lily Mangino, Cecilia Moore, Makenzie Sipp, Jalynn Williams and Addison Wojda. All of the girls are Junior-level Girl Scouts in fourth and fifth grades at St. Mary School in DeKalb

Christensen said the idea behind the troop’s service project always has struck a chord with her as she frequents the library with her own daughter.