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Date: 5/11/2021
EASTHAMPTON – Easthampton Girl Scout Troop 64639 has built a Little Free Library outside of the Easthampton Council on Aging’s Enrichment Center so senior citizens can have an easy place to get large print books.
The library was created as part of a Bronze Award project, which is the highest award that Junior Girl Scouts can earn.
According to Lisa Downing, a co-leader of Troop 64639, the award teaches the foundational skills that will then support Girl Scouts as they get older, especially if they want to go for the Silver or Gold awards, which are the highest awards in Girl Scouts. The Bronze Award involves a group project, while the other two are more individually-based.
“The girls worked together to solve a community need,” said Downing, when speaking on the Bronze Award project. “One important part of the project is it will have long-term impact.”
The award is reviewed by the Girl Scout Council, and as of press time, Downing said that the troop has not been approved for the award yet, but she is hopeful that they have done everything in order to get approved.
According to Downing, the girls formed their community project by speaking with community members, and finding out what is of great need in Easthampton. The girls found that seniors have been very isolated and lonely during the pandemic, so the girls spoke to community leaders for ideas on how to help. According to Downing, the group began working on the library project back in December.
“This project was really curated based on conversations we had with Easthampton Neighbors,” said Downing. Easthampton Neighbors is an organization that helps seniors age in place.
The Easthampton Council on Aging had been wanting to add a Little Free Library in front of the center as a way to support their members and allow them access to large print books. The library will also serve the community at large since the area brings in a lot of foot traffic.
“It will hopefully be there for years to come,” said Downing. “The girls created a solution that has lasting impact.”
Eleven girls worked on building the library, and each girl had to put 20 hours into the project, according to Downing. The three leaders of the troop helped guide the Girl Scouts, but the girls were the ones who went out and talked to the community.
One group of girls worked on building the library, and had to look at blueprints and sand wood. The library was built with donated materials from Fleury Lumber.
There was another group of girls that had to collect the books to stock the library. They asked for donations and sorted the books.
According to Downing, there were other parts of the award project as well, including a group of girls working on care packages and handmade cards that were distributed to elders through Easthampton Neighbors that included donated candy from Mt. Tom’s Homemade Ice Cream.
“We tried to see what each girl’s interests and strengths were,” said Downing, who added that the Department of Public Works and a couple of the girls’ dads were also very helpful with the construction process. “It really was a group effort.”
A ribbon cutting event was conducted at 19 Union St. on May 6 to officially open the little library. Mayor Nicole LaChapelle, who was helpful in finding community members for the girls to talk with, found the project to be “inspiring.”
“The plans that I heard about were phenomenal,” said LaChapelle. “It’s not only admirable, it’s cutting edge.”
Amelia Gruber, a Girl Scout from Troop 64639, said that her favorite part about the project was building the library with her dad.
Another Girl Scout, Alenna Shapleigh, said her favorite part of the project was making the cards for the elders.
When asked what she hopes people can take away from a project like this, Shapleigh responded by saying, “You can do anything if you put your mind to it.”