Photo courtesy of Margaret Bridges.
Junior Girl Scout Troop 26202 recently completed a project of building a Little Free Library for Vestavia Hills Methodist Church.
Vestavia Hills Girl Scout Troop Leader Margaret Bridges said the troop has been meeting since they were in kindergarten and they just finished 5th grade at various schools (Vestavia Hills East Elementary, Vestavia Hills West Elementary, Vestavia Hills Elementary Dolly Ridge, and Oak Mountain Intermediate).
The project was a way for Troop 26202 to give back to the church that has been so generous to them, said Bridges. She added that they also wanted to do something for the entire community and beyond. Their library is chartered by Little Free Library (littlefreelibrary.org) and is searchable on their app.
Bridges said that they are the only chartered Little Free Library in the area, and the concept is to take a book and share a book.
In addition to the library, the troop also completed a book drive and donated the surplus books to Better Basics of Birmingham.
The troop has 13 girls and they all participated. Part of earning the bronze award, the highest award a Junior Girl Scout can earn, is to complete a three badge journey and then a take-action project in the community.
The library is located on the backside of the sanctuary under a covered portico, and the design mimics the church's bell tower.
Bronze Award Overview 2023
- Troop members had to research and present information about Little Free Libraries and Better Basics at the kickoff meeting
- Completed drawings of the library design and submitted to Vestavia Hills Methodist Church (VHMC) for approval. The shape of the library is designed after the bell tower at VHMC.
- Built the library as a troop from February – May 2023
- Held a book drive to collect books to fill the library and to replenish.
- Held book drive at VHMC
- Individual troop members collected books from neighbors, friends, classmates and families
- The book drive was held for several months and over 40 boxes of books were collected for children, teen and adults
- Books were sorted and inappropriate books or damaged books were removed
- Excess books were donated to Better Basics, which is an outstanding program to help eradicate illiteracy amongst children in Alabama.
- Purchased a Little Free Library Charter and added the coordinates to the LFL app
- Advertised the completion of the library through the VHMC weekly newsletter
- Dedication of the Little Free Library was made to VHMC clergy and staff on Monday, May 22
- Troop members will be responsible for monitoring and restocking the library, each will be assigned a month of the year
Submitted by Margaret Bridges
