Tuesday, May 19, 2009

A Gold Project Gone Green

I must admit, my own career in the Girl Scouts was short-lived - one year as a Brownie and that was it. Luckily there are other girls out there who stick with it, and some accomplish some pretty amazing things. Enter Margaret, a high school student from Winston-Salem who decided that for her Gold Award Project, she would teach small groups how to re-purpose old t-shirts into reusable tote bags.

If you're like me, you don't know what a Gold Award Project is. It's a big deal. It is the highest award that a Girl Scout aged 14-18 can earn, and it has been described as the thing that you really want to be remembered for as a Girl Scout. It should be something that the girl is passionate about and that fills a need in her community. Oh, and this one will just happen to impress hipsters, crafters and the eco-minded everywhere, although that is not a requirement.

Margaret chose her project because it combines many of her interests - sewing, repurposing clothing and living green. She is scheduling sewing workshops to teach as many people as possible how to sew the t-shirt tote bags, and she is requesting that each workshop attendee teach at least one other person (how's that for community building?). In addition, she is sewing t-shirt totes to give away at a local supermarket. In each tote she's placing a copy of the sewing instructions and information about the City of Winston-Salem's recycling program.

Margaret hopes that her simple sewing project will empower others by showing them that one person can make a difference and that small steps can be accomplished cost-effectively and creatively...so that everyone can say NO to "paper or plastic."
Congratulations, Margaret, on a thoughtful, needed, timely, creative and eco-chic job well-done!

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