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Girl Scouts Needed for Challenge & Change Service Projects

Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois has selected three Challenge and Change projects. Each project will be funded up to $5000 by the USDA and supported by their local communities and Girl Scouts like you!

Challenge and Change is a curriculum that aligns with the Girl Scout Leadership Development Program, where girls discover their personal best, connect with others in an increasingly diverse world, and take action to solve problems and improve their rural communities. The Challenge and Change curriculum draws on extensive research in youth development, leadership and social entrepreneurship.

Challenge and Changes teaches girls skills to identify community problems, recognize and build on local assets, and design a sustainable solution and action plan for the rural communities that they live in. After the training, girls recruit a community action team—including an adult who serves as their community champion—to turn their good idea into a sustainable, long-term project.

Challenge & Change Service Projects:

City Park Path, Percy, IL
This project will allow for people to have a safe place to go and exercise in Percy. The project will be to build a pathway around the city park for people to walk around, enjoy the landscape and watch their children play at the park. By creating a walk way that is pleasant to walk, jog or even to push a baby in a stroller on, people will be exercising and interacting with each other.

The goal is to create a free and safe environment for people to exercise for health or to just have something to do that is beneficial while their kids are playing on the playground equipment. Creating this environment will keep people from walking the sidewalks near the highway.

Who can I help? Anyone interested in sports, fitness, athleticism, teamwork, outdoors, or has knowledge in trails or park paths that would like to volunteer!

Unity Point Learning Garden, Makanda, IL
This project will address poor nutrition and obesity in children. The goal of this project is to further educate children about nutrition and healthy food choices by teaching kids how plants grow and where food comes from. The garden will not only provide a learning experience for the kids that work in the garden but will also provide an educational curriculum for science and health classes.

Who can I help? Anyone with experience or interest in gardening, farming, nutrition, or healthy cooking that would like to volunteer!

Homework Pals Anna, IL
The goal of this project is to assist and encourage elementary school students to have strong literary skills, such as reading, paper writing, literary analysis, and critical thinking. In addition, we plan to help students in other academic areas, which they feel they need additional attention in such as
math, science, history, music, computer skills, or art.  The hope for the project is to see stronger readers with higher grades, higher scores on standardized tests, and an increase in the graduation rate from Anna-Jonesboro Community High School.

Who can I help? Anyone who is interested in reading, games, and working with young kids that would like to volunteer!

For More Information or to Sign Up

Visit our blog at www.gsofsichallengeandchange.blogspot.com