ATHENS — To earn her Silver Award, the second highest in Girl Scouts, 14-year-old Caroline Malone, chose Walter Reed Army Hospital for a service project and was able to deliver seven lap quilts, 15 electric razors and nine pairs of mittens to the USO in Washington, D.C. last weekend.
“When I first took my Girl Scout Silver Award Class and learned about the 40 project hours needed to earn the Silver Award and that I had one year to do it in, I thought it would be impossible,” said Malone, a 10th-grader who is home-schooled.
Little did she know how difficult. The Silver Award can be earned by Cadette Girl Scouts between the ages of 11 and 14. It requires a community service project of a minimum of 40 hours to include 15 hours of leadership opportunities. In addition, the girls must have earned interest project awards and achievement charms.
The estimated 40 hours turned into 100 before the project was completed. Coming up with a community project that met the requirements was harder than she thought. Research into past projects resulted in her first ideas having to be scrapped.
“I continued to think about things that I cared about,” said Malone. “I thought about the members of my family who had served in the military and were wounded. I also thought about all the people from my community who are currently serving in the military and could be hospitalized. Then I had the idea, what if I made lap quilts for the wounded soldiers at Walter Reed Army Hospital?”
When she contacted Walter Reed, she was told that in order to donate she must go through a charity. Provided with a list from the Army Gift Program Coordinator, she contacted the United Service Organization in Washington D.C. and received an enthusiastic response from Jackie Brazier, hospital services specialist.
When asked if there were other items besides quilts that were needed, Brazier told her that many patients couldn’t afford electric razors and those with serious injuries to their hands need mittens.
Setting up a table at a Walmart in Huntsville, Malone raised close to $250, which she used to purchase the mittens, (ordering them through Athens Tractor Supply) and the electric razors. As for the quilts, two fellow scouts assisted with some of the work and one quilt was donated.
“There were a number of things that did not go as planned,” said Malone. “The first charity I contacted did not respond; the local merchant I asked about having a table for raising funds turned me down saying that they had used all their allotted hours for Scouts; and there were no mittens to be found in the middle of the summer in Athens!
“This experience has helped me with skills such as patience when things didn’t go the way I planned; problem solving when the unexpected popped up, and leadership when people needed to be organized and informed,” said Malone. “Looking back at all of the work, I can honestly say that it has been a worthwhile project.”
As a reward for her hard work, her parents decided to take a weekend road trip to D.C. for her to deliver the items in person. It was the first trip to the nation’s capitol for Caroline and her brother, 11-year-old Clay.
Caroline is the daughter of Anthony and Cynthia Malone and lives in the East Limestone community. She has been a member of Scout Troup No.1130 for four years.
