On day 2 of our 30 Days of Good Deeds, we'll be featuring a few girls from a troop who decided to take a stand against the pollution they witnessed in Puerto Rico while on a family vacation
Seven-year-old triplets Sophia, Angelina and Mariana are part of Troop #60525. While in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico visiting their grandparents for the holiday break, Sophia got upset by all the trash left behind at a recently built boardwalk at the beach. She came home expressing her desire to help people understand the importance of keeping the beaches clean--not only in Puerto Rico, but everywhere.
In hopes of creating some meaningful conversation, Sophia left a suggestion box that she created in the front door of the apartment where we were staying, constructed a poster illustrating what to do and what not to do in order to "protect nature," and she expressed her desire to speak with the city mayor to share her ideas, as the boardwalk has been one of his biggest projects in the city.
At the beginning, she and her sisters wondered if it was a silly idea and if anyone would leave suggestions. They even pondered if she would be able to make a difference as sometimes "things never change." As it turns out, friends and relatives that came to visit left ideas in her box and she even got suggestions from college students and business owners in Singapore.
With the help of her grandparents, Sophia's desire to talk to the mayor and the ideas that she collected made it to the city's mayor, Carlos Mendez. Much to Sophia's surprise, she received a video message from Mr. Mendez after we returned to the United States. The mayor told her he had heard about her concerns and ideas, and that she had his word that he would work on a plan to clean the beaches.
"I promise you that I am going to follow your advice and clean the beaches up", the mayor said.
Sophia was excited when she started getting suggestions in her box and she was even more amazed when she watched the video from the mayor! But, most importantly, Sophia's sisters supported her the whole and told her, " You did it! You are able to make a difference".
We are collecting stories to be featured on our blog in a countdown to Girl Scouts’ Birthday. Our 30 Days of Good Deeds will start on February 11th and end on March 11th. Is your Troop doing something amazing? Do you know a Girl Scout who is making a change in her community? Fill out this easy form to submit your Good Deed!
No comments:
Post a Comment