A group of youngsters is hard at work on a project that is doggone needed for Tri-County Humane Society’s pups.
Members of Girl Scout Troop 636 are working on their Bronze Award, and decided that the shelter should benefit. The girls, ages 10 and 11, will be going into sixth grade in the fall. The Bronze Award is the highest honor that Girl Scout Juniors like Troop 636 members can earn. To qualify for the award, each girl has to put in 20 hours of work on the project.
The girls decided that they wanted to do something to help homeless animals, and even though Troop Leader Kari Boehmer is a former TCHS employee/current volunteer, the Scouts picked the topic all on their own, she said. They started brainstorming what to do in January, and they narrowed their scope to building a dog play area and improving part of the current TCHS property to make it more enjoyable for pups and people.
Their plan includes having a dog play yard expansion and a picnic area for TCHS employees. And their hard work is already paying off – the girls already got the pea gravel and sand donated for the project, as well as financial donations. They worked hard to lobby family members and friends, Boehmer said.
“We’ve had so much outpouring of support,” she said. They even got “extra” financial donations to the project, which they’ll use to possibly add agility equipment and other improvements.
What Troop 636 still needs: Muscle! Boehmer said the bulk of the construction work is likely to take place in early August, although no date has been set yet. She said anyone who would be willing to lend a hand should contact her via phone or email to be on the group’s contact list.
To meet the award guidelines, the project must be wrapped by September.
The girls have enjoyed researching and advocating for the project. “They’re having a blast,” Boehmer said. They even joined with another Girl Scout troop of younger members recently to move some bricks in the play yard area.
How to Help
Troop members will need volunteer help sometime in early August. (A date has not yet been determined.) To be added to the contact, list call Kari Boehmer at 320-492-8646 or email her at klbthirtyone@gmail.com.
