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Three Girl Scouts from Oakboro Troop 2160 recently earned their highest awards.

Destiny Rushing and Kelsey Robinson, sixth graders at West Stanly Middle School earned their Bronze Awards, and Logan Marker, a freshman at Carolina Christian School, earned her Silver Award.

These highest awards are typically earned by the girls by Sept. 30 following their fifth and eighth grade school years, however, due to the COVID pandemic, the deadline was extended to Dec. 31, 2020.

Robinson, daughter of Joshua and Candace Hathcock of Locust, partnered with Jennifer Frick of the Community Table in Albemarle to earn her Bronze Award.

She spoke with Frick about specific items that would benefit the community who utilized the services of Community Table. She then sold bracelets and collected donations in order to raise funds for backpacks. She filled more than 50 backpacks with blankets and toiletries and delivered them to the Community Table for distribution.

Rushing, daughter of Stephanie Rushing and Brandon Stancil of Oakboro, earned her Bronze Award by partnering with Spring Arbor Nursing Home in Albemarle. She made and sold bracelets before and during the COVID pandemic in order to raise funds necessary to purchase and prepare Blessing Bags for the residents at Spring Arbor.

She worked with their Administrator Audrey Durgin to determine which items were most needed by the residents there and packed items including puzzle books, pens and candies. Although she was unable to go inside and greet the residents personally, she was able to deliver more than 50 packages to the facility for distribution.

Marker, daughter of Shane and Lisa Marker of Oakboro, volunteered with West Stanly Christian Ministries in Stanfield to earn her Silver Award.

She knew of the food assistance ministry offered by WSCM but wanted to work on a project that offered guidance towards preparing healthy meals to those who received the assistance.

She volunteered with WSCM during the summer of 2020, working in the food pantry to help stock and restock the shelves and to help organize the items on hand. She was also able to personally see the items given in a food assistance box and took a list of those items and prepared a booklet to be distributed with the boxes. The booklet included a week’s worth of recipes made with the items received, common kitchen substitutions, kitchen measurements and more.

She worked with Robert Britt of West Stanly Christian Ministries for guidance on what would best help those in need. She has now earned both her Bronze Award and Silver Award and has set her sights on earning the Gold Award as well.

Highest awards earned by Girl Scouts require lots of work and dedication. The Bronze Award is earned by registered Girl Scouts who are in the fourth or fifth grade and have completed a Girl Scout Junior Journey.

The girls explore their community and work either as a team or individually to find a need in their community to address. It is suggested these girls spend a minimum of 20 individual hours working towards their project. The Bronze Award is the highest award a Girl Scout Junior can achieve.

As a Girl Scout Cadette, the highest award a Girl Scout can achieve is the Silver Award. These girls are in the sixth, seventh or eighth grade, registered Girl Scouts and require completion of a Girl Scout Cadette Journey.

The Cadettes can work individually or as a team to develop their project, make a plan and put it in motion. As girls work towards their goal they spend a recommended 50 individual hours planning, researching and finishing their project. The Silver Award is the highest award to be earned by a Girl Scout Cadette.

Girl Scout Troop 2160 meets in Oakboro and is part of the Girl Scout Hornets’ Nest Council based out of Charlotte.

For more information about joining Girl Scouts contact GirlScoutsofStanlyCounty@gmail.com or visit www.hngirlscouts.org and click Join.