Can wire, gesso and acrylic paint make a difference in the community? For a group of Hopkinton Girl Scouts, the answer to that question is yes.
Girl Scout Cadettes from Troop 82358 completed a service project for Project Just Because (PJB) that involved the hanging of displays designed to encourage people to volunteer at the food pantry.
The displays are designed as hearts that feature inspiring quotes, catchphrases and visuals, along QR codes that direct viewers to PJB’s volunteer sign-up page. The project — entitled Follow Your Heart — is set up alongside the Art on the Trail exhibit on Center Trail.
As part of the Cadettes’ Take Action Project, Follow Your Heart is meant to address an issue in the community and enact positive change. This project will help the girls earn the Silver Award, one of Girl Scouts’ highest awards.
According to Jenna Gavula, one of the troop’s leaders, the idea came after the girls toured the PJB facility and connected with the organization’s president, Cherylann Lambert Walsh.
“There’s a dire need [for volunteers], especially in certain times of the year,” said Gavula. The girls saw an opportunity to benefit the pantry by helping enroll more volunteers, she added.
The group of 10 Scouts went through a design process with their project, starting with brainstorming and working all the way through prototyping until they reached a final product.
“They went through a special process where they learned about design thinking and learned about how scientists and engineers work in the real world,” Gavula said.
The girls even tested their designs, bringing them to groups at the Senior Center and Hopkinton High School — two populations they identified as ideal candidates to target with volunteering opportunities.
Once feedback was gathered, the group finalized the designs and constructed the final products.
The finished hearts have eye-catching, artistic elements and inspiring messages with simple calls to action.
“It’s a visual story about volunteering,” explained Vanessa Barker, another of the troop’s leaders.
The hearts were installed on Center Trail at the beginning of October, and are to remain there for the next few weeks.
Installing the signs on the trail was another important part of the project. The girls needed to put the hearts somewhere people would be able to interact with them.
In coordination with the Hopkinton Cultural Council, the group was able to share space on Center Trail during the annual Art on the Trail exhibit. Signs at the trailhead identify the difference between the girls’ projects and the art exhibits.
Barker says the ultimate goal of the project is “establishing a new relationship with volunteers, and [hoping] those relationships carry on.”
When it comes to measuring the impact of Follow Your Heart, Gavula and Barker intend to do a retrospective with their Scouts after the exhibit is over. They report the group already is beginning to think about where else the hearts can go to continue making a difference.
Gavula highlighted her Scouts’ creativity in both the artistic and problem-solving aspects of this project. She noted that while some of the messages on the hearts are famous lines or quotes from real volunteers, the girls also came up with their own messages.
“To see their raw creativity … they really understood what they were trying to do,” Gavula said.
She also talked about how the girls’ project helps them understand the importance of community engagement.
Said Gavula: “To instill that in them now helps to build a foundation of the importance of being volunteers in their community.”
Amazing planning, coordination and execution Troop 82358!! What an original and creative solution to the need for volunteers! I can’t wait to see how this helps PJB. Congratulations on an amazing Silver Award project! 💚