Knowledge

Several years ago, my Girl Scout Troop decided to provide fully stocked backpacks to kids that needed them.  This became their Bronze Award project.

We decided as a Troop that having the right tools would help kids feel better about going to school and thus help them learn.  The girls collected supplies and raised money for a year and put together 12 backpacks (one for each member of our Troop) in time for school to start. The girls prepared a statement and we meet with the Principal of the Jr. High to deliver the backpacks so that he could see they were distributed.

It was a great project.

I know that school supplies are not all we need to gain knowledge, what we really need is access and support.  I think, in their own small way, those backpacks provided that.  You see, we not only included all the things on the Jr. High school supply list, we also put a PBL t shirt and a pizza gift certificate into each backpack. There was also a list of local groups and clubs (for kids new to the district).

The girls wanted to make sure the student receiving the backpack felt included in their school and community.  They wanted the student to know that they were part of something.

The girls recognized that learning is about more than going to class and doing homework. It's about participating in the world around them.  That's what these backpacks were really about.