Shivani Patel needed to complete her Gold Award Project by Jan. 1 in order to receive the highest award in Girl Scouts this coming spring. Unfortunately, a snow storm forced her to cancel the event she organized. While no make-up date has been set, she was granted an extension to complete her project titled Fitness for Goodwill.
Patel joined Girl Scouts in fourth grade. Initially it was something her mother signed her up for, but after the first meeting, Patel found she liked Girl Scouts more than she expected. She met other girls she recognized from school, some of whom eventually became her best friends.
On Dec. 14, Patel, a Cornwall High School senior, was prepared to host a fitness event, at Sportsplex, which would also benefit those who aren’t able to afford clothes.
The initial step in planning her project was to evaluate an issue and then engage it, rather than find a solution.
“My issue was kids these days don’t get enough physical activity during their day,” Patel said. “I addressed another issue as well – unemployment.”
Those who have been unemployed for an extended period may find it difficult to afford new clothes. In order to help those people as well, anyone who wants to participate in the fitness portion of the project must donate new or gently used clothing. Only one article of clothing would be necessary to participate. Contributed clothing would be donated to Goodwill.
As a Sportsplex member, Patel met with the manager and was able to secure use of the fitness complex, as well as the trainers who would lead one of three activities – Zumba, dance fusion, and yoga. The event was originally scheduled from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. All three activities were to run simultaneously in 45 minute increments.
In November, Patel presented her project to the Gold Award Committee. She dressed up like she was preparing for a job interview and wrote a paragraph outlining her proposal. Patel was nervous heading into the committee because she had heard of other Scouts who had their proposals rejected, but the committee granted approval and assigned her a mentor in case she needed help with the project. Patel said she never had to use her mentor, but only needed to keep her up to date on what was going on with the planning.
The next step in the process was actually seeing her event come to fruition. Patel advertised the event and asked friends and family to help in the preparation. One of the Gold Award requirements is to log 80 hours including those hours put in by Patel and her volunteers. Up until the day of the scheduled event, Patel had logged 54 hours. Additional time would be spent packing up the donated clothing.
“It’s been hectic, but at the same time it’s been fun,” Patel said of the planning process.
