Olivia Schwarz received her Silver Award, the highest award a Girl Scout Cadette in sixth, seventh or eighth grade can earn.
Mt. Laurel resident Olivia Schwarz, 15, is doing a happy dance these days, as she was recently awarded her Girl Scout Silver Award for her project where she taught dance classes for kids with mental and emotional behavioral issues at Oaks Integrated Care.
According to the Girl Scouts of the USA, the Silver Award is the highest award a Girl Scout Cadette in sixth, seventh or eighth grade can earn, with Scouts achieving the honor by completing projects that show a Scout is an organized leader determined and dedicated to improving her community.
“I’ve been dancing since I was little, and it’s always been something I’ve found a lot of fun, and I thought if I could bring it to the kids that were struggling a little, they might find it fun too and continue with it in their lives,” Schwarz said.
Schwarz and a partner traveled to Oaks Integrated Care several days a week to teach their 45-minute classes for several weeks last summer, and while many of the children were shy with dancing at first, Schwarz said they eventually became more comfortable.
“Honestly, when we started to go there and we started hanging out with all the kids and getting to know everybody is when we knew it was worth it. It was a lot of fun being there with everyone,” Schwarz said.
Having started with Girl Scouts in first grade, Schwarz said giving back to her community has always given her a satisfying feeling, which caused her to continue with the program, in addition to all the friends she’s made throughout the year.
Schwarz said Scouting has also provided her with a better view of how she and others can always do more to help the world around them.
“Even just doing the brainstorming for the project made me a lot more aware of everything around me, and it’s been eye opening of different ways that we can help in the community,” Schwarz said.
With her Silver Award now achieved, Schwarz said she hopes to achieve her Gold Award as well, which requires Scouts to work on their own individual project for even more time than their Silver Award.
Schwarz said she would highly recommend Girl Scouts to families with young girls looking to get them involved in the community.
“It’s helped me have this new knowledge of different things, and I find myself sometimes continuing with things that I may not have tried out in the first place,” Schwarz said.
Schwarz said Girl Scouts has also always provided her with great role models, and now as an older Scout, she’s become one of the people younger members look up to as well.
“Little girls really do look up to me and troop leaders, and it’s really great to be able to teach them different things,” Schwarz said. “It’s a great way to try out new things and meet new people, and it was always such a highlight for me every week I got to go to a meeting with my friends.”
