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Teens Makeover Youth Shelter
JERSEY SHORE - Combining aesthetics and functionality to create a beautiful, well thought out space for a Toms River youth shelter earned Nicole Dombrowski and Kristin Lindquist a Girl Scout Gold Award.
"My Gold Award project gave me the opportunity to create a space suitable for them to sit down and eat dinner and to use as a crafts/work room," said 17-year-old Dombrowski, a senior at Freehold Township High School. "My project provided a warm and serene place that the clients could dine in."
The room was painted a relaxing blue with new window treatments. "The new curtains and color scheme in the dining room helped create a nicer environment instead of the institution-like atmosphere it originally presented," said 18-year-old Lindquist, now a freshman at Kutztown University. "I felt that making the Emergency Youth Shelter a more homey environment for the incoming and existing youth was necessary."
Dombrowski donated a desk and hutch, which she constructed, stained and sealed, to store craft and officesupplies, a new light fixture and sorted and organized the youth shelter's craft supplies. "By organizing their supplies, I made it easier for them to quickly findthe things they needed," said Dombrowski. "The staff liked the desk and hutch because they had more room for books and a permanent home for the phone."
In addition to remodeling the dining room, the girls helped organize outreach cards detailing the programs Ocean's Harbor House offers that were distributed to area schools and churches and collected hair products and gift cards so the staff could assist new clients at the shelter.
Dombrowski and Lindquist are two of at least 30 girls from Monmouth and Ocean counties expected to earn a Gold Award this year from the Girl Scouts of the Jersey Shore. The Gold Award is the highest achievement available to a Teen Girl Scout. The program is designed to help girls, ages 14 to 18, create a foundation for a lifetime of active citizenship.
Although it's called an award, the Gold Award is earned, not given, and it isn't easily achieved. Each recipient must spend at least 65 hours completing a project that combines organizational, leadership and networking skills with community service. The girl must feel passionate about the project in thought, deed and action. The project should also have an impact in the girl's community that ideally will continue even after her involvement ends.
"I feel the most successful aspect of the project is how I impacted the residents' lives by just changing a small portion of the home they live in," said Lindquist, a Freehold resident. "Also I was able to learn to be persistent and more of a leader in everyday situations."
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