Girl Scouts impress President Obama
Girl Scout troops Nos. 934 and 9073 in Decatur have been on a mission to serve their communities.
Throughout the year the cluster of six through nine-year-olds Caitlyn Rideway-Turner, Wyunna Knighton, Aaliyah White and Neaira Myers operated a pet supply drive, donating newspapers, blankets and other items to PAWS Atlanta, a no-kill animal shelter in Decatur. They hosted a “trunk or treat” where they gave candy to children on Halloween at Midway Recreation Center, held a winter gloves and socks drive at Avondale Elementary School and individually volunteered at their churches and nonprofit organizations around the city.
As a reward for the girls community involvement, Girl Scouts of Greater Atlanta Volunteer Support Specialist Ebonie Cleaves entered the troops in the Presidential Volunteer Service Awards (PVSA) program.
Cleaves said she wanted to get them started with loving community service.
She said, “The especially exceptional part of all of this is that these are considered outreach troops, which means they live in areas that are considered high risk and low-income, and they are absolutely blowing those stereotypes out the water.”
PVSA is an initiative that was started by the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation in 2003 as a way to honor Americans who inspire others to engage in volunteer service. The Council no longer exists, but the program continues as an initiative of the Corporation for National and Community Service and is administered by the Points of Light volunteer organization.
The organizations aim to celebrate and inspire more people to get involved in their communities.
The PVSA recognizes United States, residents who have achieved a required number of hours of service over a 12-month time period or cumulative hours over the course of a lifetime.
The awards are offered in multiple levels: bronze, silver, gold and the highest honor, the President’s Lifetime Achievement Award for those who contribute more than 4,000 hours of service in their lifetime.
Cleaves said, “This is a hardworking group, they are driven, they are all honor roll students, they’re absolutely exceptional. My biggest job as their leader is to let them know that they are not these titles, they are whatever they want to be and that’s the reason that I work so hard to expose them to opportunities like this Presidential Volunteer Service Award.”
As a result of the scouts’ community service efforts, each girl was recognized by the White House and President Barack Obama with bronze Presidential Service Awards.
The bronze award is given to children ages five through 10 who have devoted 26-49 hours to their community.
Along with the honor of presidential recognition, recipients received a personalized certificate, an official pin and a congratulatory letter from the president of the United States.
Cleaves said, “They can keep this on their resume forever. It’s a national award and that’s a big deal, especially for them; coming from an area where people believe that 40 percent of the children in their area will not see high school and here they are doing things on a national level,” she said.
Cleaves, who has worked as a leader at Girls Scout of Greater Atlanta for six years, said, the biggest reward is seeing the girls come back each year.
She said, “They could be cheerleaders and a million other things; being a Girl Scout and going camping isn’t seen as the coolest thing to do but they keep coming back. They are committed.”
