Bella Vista Girl Scout changes lives with little free hygiene pantries

Girl Scout sees need and changes lives

Photo submitted Junior Girl Scout Janessa Davis stands next to the finished product of her Little Free Hygiene Pantry created for her Bronze Star Award project after it was installed at Planned Parenthood in Rogers on Sept. 23, 2022.
Photo submitted Junior Girl Scout Janessa Davis stands next to the finished product of her Little Free Hygiene Pantry created for her Bronze Star Award project after it was installed at Planned Parenthood in Rogers on Sept. 23, 2022.

Janessa Davis, a fifth-grader at Ruth Barker Middle School in Bentonville and a Bella Vista resident, recently completed her Girl Scout Bronze Star Award project. Janessa's project was building, placing and stocking two little free hygiene pantries in Northwest Arkansas. The Bronze Star Award is the highest award that a Junior level scout can earn.

Janessa started in Girl Scouting at the Brownie level as a third-grader in the fall of 2020. She says that Scouting has allowed her to come out of her shell and helped her face and overcome her social anxieties. A self-professed overachiever, being a Girl Scout also gives her a multitude of ways to channel her ambitions.

The Bronze Star Award requires that a girl be in the fourth or fifth grade, be a registered Girl Scout Junior, and a Junior Journey to have been completed. Junior Journeys are multi-session experiences in which girls dig deeper into their interests and use the skills they gain along the way to make a difference in their community. Journeys teach critical thinking and boost problem-solving skills. Badges show that a girl has learned a new skill. Journeys show that a girl has found a way to make a difference.

Junior Journey

As a group, Janessa and the girls of Troop 5209 took the Citizen Scientist Journey with a focus on trees and forests during winter 2021 and spring 2022. The troop observed nature, learned how scientists work to protect it, and committed to plant and protect trees over the next five years.

At the end of a Junior Journey, a Take Action project is usually done, a project which may or may not be the same focus as the Journey. A Take Action project addresses the root of an issue and creates a lasting community effect.

Janessa and her fellow troop members focused on how to help young girls to feel more comfortable in nature. While spending a week at Girl Scout Camp NOARK in Madison County during the summer of 2021, Janessa noticed that some of her fellow young campers were anxious and afraid of some of the situations that close-to-primitive camping presents. Many of the girls may have never been away from their parents, homes and families for more than one night, much less have been sleeping in a basic cabin and having to walk 100 yards or more to a latrine in the middle of the night on a gravel path.

The troop decided to poll other young NOARK campers about what scares them most about being outdoors. The top result was showering in open-air stalls when at camp -- there are crawling bugs, there are flying bugs and there are spiders! To help make campers more comfortable, and hopefully distract the campers from the bugs and spiders, the troop decided to partner with NOARK and clean and paint all the outdoor showers using bright colors, rainbows, flowers, encouraging words, and even some glow-in-the-dark paints.

After all that work -- and fun -- now a Junior Girl Scout can begin to think about going for the Bronze Star Award. The basic requirements for the award are that the project must consist of planning and executing a project that will benefit the community, include a minimum of 20 work hours, and be sustainable. It is important that the project be able to continue to make a difference after a scout's direct involvement ends.

The inspiration for the final project was not far from Janessa's daily life. She is part of a family that prioritizes community service and giving back. They regularly help stock mini free pantries around Bella Vista.

At Janessa's school there is a mini free pantry for food with a take one/leave one tub underneath it for miscellaneous items. For the Girl Scout World Thinking Day, Troop 5209 learned about girls and women in other countries and how climate change disproportionately affects women. Janessa's compassion for those struggling with poverty and financial challenges, particularly during the covid pandemic, urged her to her final decision. Bella Vista, and Northwest Arkansas in general, is blessed with many churches and organizations that help provide food, shelter and clothing for those in need. There are also many mini free libraries in the region. What seemed to be missing was easy access to necessary, yet somewhat expensive, personal hygiene products.

Janessa first thought about creating little baggies that included basic hygiene items and handing those out to the people who ask for personal donations on street corners, but that wasn't a sustainable idea. Thinking through it, she decided on the mini free pantry method.

"Hygiene is quality of life," Janessa says. "Having clean teeth can help someone get a job!"

Bronze Star Steps

To start the official Bronze Star Award process, Janessa had to conceptualize the entire project. She had to think of and work through the various details of each part of the project, and then decide how to execute it in a way that would effect a significant enough community impact for the Girl Scout Highest Awards Panel to approve the proposal.

Once the project was approved, Janessa got busy with the full scope of figuring out the rest of the specifics. This included what products would be needed, often taking inspiration from odd items she and her family would find in other pantries.

Next she researched building plans for the mini free pantry models and settled on a design found on the Little Free Pantry website. Janessa's grandfather, who is handy with boards, nails and a hammer, helped her build the two pantries.

In order to stock the pantries, and begin looking for final locations for them, Janessa used social media, phone calls and in-person contact methods to reach out to different community resources, friends and family. She asked them to spread the word about the upcoming pantries and the need for monetary and physical donations.

During the summer of 2022, Janessa's troop participated in the Girl Scouts special S'more Week where the girls give back in some way. Troop 5209 decided to support Janessa's project, and each member brought one or more items to donate to the pantries. When monetary donations were received, Janessa did the shopping for supplies herself, impressing upon her just how expensive some necessary products are.

To decide where to place the two pantries, Janessa continued to reach out to and network with numerous Northwest Arkansas community nonprofits, help organizations and individuals to find out where the need was greatest and the disadvantaged populations were underserved. It was decided that the final homes for the little free hygiene pantries would be inside Planned Parenthood in Rogers and outside of the nonprofit Centerton Cares, located at 368 N. B St. in Centerton. Janessa installed the pantries herself with the first one at Planned Parenthood being installed on Sept. 23, 2022, and the second one at Centerton Cares on Jan. 8, 2023.

Just one week after the Centerton Cares pantry was installed, it was already needing restocked. Janessa was excited that she was going to be restocking it again so soon, because it showed her that she had already made a difference.

"I've seen, wow, that I really can change the lives of people who need these products," Janessa says. "I'm only 10 years old and in fifth grade, but I helped them and it makes me really happy!"

Because an entire corner of her family's garage is filled with many donated items, Janessa will continue to be hands-on with her pantries. But her hope is that these pantries will be used by anyone who needs them and also that community members will help to keep them stocked and benefiting the public. One of the Girl Scout's core beliefs is "Make the world a better place" and that takes everyone doing their part.

Community Connection

The little free hygiene pantries work just like the little free food pantries: Any and all personal care products are welcome to be donated. To donate to the hygiene pantry inside of Planned Parenthood, it is suggested that people call ahead (337-5301) of their visit to let the staff know they will be bringing donations. The pantry at Centerton Cares is outdoors and easy for people to restock with donations at any time. If community members wanted to check ahead of time to see what products might be most needed at that location, they could contact Centerton Cares at [email protected].

As required, Janessa submitted her final documentation of the process and completion of the project, including information on total hours worked and the sustainability of the project, for final review by the Girl Scout Highest Awards Panel. Within the past week, she received word that her completed project did indeed meet the standards, and she will be awarded the Bronze Star.

Janessa fully intends to continue in Girl Scouts and is already thinking about her Silver Award Project. Her mother, Serene, says that thankfully they have three years to complete that goal after Janessa bridges to the Cadette level this coming summer.

Janessa recognizes and appreciates the things she has learned in Scouting -- how to work in a team; how to work solo toward an ambitious goal and the process and steps required to achieve that goal; how to partner with businesses, community groups and nonprofits; and realizing self-confidence and self-worth by achieving goals within a supportive group. Janessa believes these experiences and skills will serve her well into her future as she thinks about possibly working in the mental health industry and continuing to do community service throughout her life.

Right now, though, she is just excited to be planning on attending summer camp sessions at NOARK where she can shoot archery and ride horses.

Pam Graney writes for the Weekly Vista in Bella Vista. Email her at [email protected].

  photo  Photo submitted Janessa Davis, of Girl Scout Troop 5209, paints a bright rainbow on the walls of the showers at Girl Scout Camp Noark on May 7, 2022, as part of the troop's Take Action project.
 
 

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