Sabin Girl Scout Troop Earns Bronze Award

Members of Girl Scout Troop 45157 stand at the intersection of NE 17th Avenue and Failing Street, the site of their completed intersection painting project for the prestigious Bronze Award.

This article originally appeared in the Sabin Community Association June 2018 newsletter.

On Saturday, June 2, 2018, about 75 volunteers gathered to participate in creating Sabin’s newest intersection painting at NE 17th Avenue and Failing Street. Sabin’s Junior Girl Scout Troop 45157 chose the site for their community project, because they were aware that traffic around the school moves too fast at times, and they wanted to connect the school with the broader Sabin community. The troop of seventeen fifth grade girls, led by Sara Lockman and Lisa Johnston-Smith, has been together since the first grade (2014). 

The intersection painting is the girls’ capstone project for the prestigious Girl Scout Bronze Award. The Bronze Award is the highest honor a Junior scout can achieve and requires at least twenty hours of building a team, exploring the community, planning a project, and taking action on that plan. Troop members Andi Bell and Esperanza Walsh took the initial lead on the project. Andi described the significance of the project: “Part of the Girl Scout law is try to make the world a better place, and that is basically what the bronze award is trying to do.”

Starting in September 2017, the troop came up with the idea and worked with City Repair’s Village Building Convergence to design and secure approval for the intersection painting — a project aimed at creating community space, slowing traffic, and bringing the community closer together. The troop worked to raise funds to pay for the cost of paint, supplies, permits, and other general expenses through a bake sale, bike raffle, and online donation site. 

The design, titled “Sabin Wild Roses,” features a wild rose at the center, representing the beauty of nature, children growing and developing, and the connections between us all. The bee and star represent Sabin School’s tickle bees and star mascot, and the trefoil is a nod to the Girl Scouts.

When asked what they learned during the project, Andi said, “I’ve realized that we are way more capable sometimes than we give ourselves credit for. We all did an amazing job!” Esperanza discovered that she didn’t know all of her neighbors, stating “this was a neat opportunity to meet them.” 

According to the Girl Scouts of America: “When you go for the Bronze Award, you represent what Girl Scouts can achieve in their communities.” The Sabin Community Association is honored to have these girls as members of our community and looks forward following their great work in the future.