The Girl Scouts Silver Award is the highest honor that a Girl Scouts Cadette can earn. It is a 50 hour project where Girl Scouts in middle school identify a topic they are passionate about and create a sustainable project to benefit their community in some way. You can learn more about the official process with this link.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, students in my school district have to comply with safety procedures and continue their education through virtual schooling. It can be very difficult to get used to the new schedule, manage workload, and stay in contact with friends online. This can take a toll on students' mental health, which is not at all ideal. For my project, I will help students near me in different ways to manage their mental health and stay cheerful during these times. I will also update the different parts of my project in this site so that everyone can have access to it. For the Silver Award, there are 3 main questions that will help guide the project and pave a clear path for the work ahead. Below are the three questions along with my answers.
In this project, I will be focusing on the mental health of students. I will create small, free packages with items to help my classmates with mental health and have workshops at school about mental health. I will also have a weekly newsletter about mental health and record podcast episodes about the science behind this topic to inform the public. The general goal is to inform people about the science behind mental health, help them realize the importance of this, and teach them how to stay mindful during this time.
This topic matters because mental health is a critical factor that plays into one's overall wellbeing. Especially for middle school students, mental health can be difficult to manage during the pandemic. It makes it even harder when the workload from school increases and teens are unable to meet their friends in person. If a child's mental health is not in a good place, their performance in school and extracurricular activities can plummet, causing high levels of stress that will only worsen the situation. It is important that we address this issue to avoid children going through this.
This project will help anyone who is struggling to maintain their mental health. However, it is geared specifically towards middle school students. It will help them learn how to manage their schedules properly, stay mindful, and be positive no matter what comes in their way!