Baldridge of Troop 7115 of Jayton was honored September 28 for her completion of the requirements for the Silver Award, the highest honor a Cadette Girl Scout can achieve.
The Silver Award recognizes a scout’s commitment to growth through gaining invaluable leadership skills and celebrates a scout’s heart of service through meeting a community need. Lainey chose to serve the youth of Jayton and surrounding areas by coordinating and hosting a babysitting seminar, tailored to ages 11 and up, to educate and equip potential caregivers about a variety of important topics.
For this project, Lainey combined her love for children and babysitting with her love for education and desired to share knowledge with others. Professionals, educators, local mothers, and seasoned babysitters presented sessions including babysitting basics, first aid & CPR basics, childhood development, and the social-emotional needs of children. Lainey also put her own talents and skills into action and led a session on healthy and fun snacks and crafts for kids, guiding attendees as they made their own examples. The hands-on learning and question and answer sessions proved insightful for those in attendance.
Twelve youth attended the seminar, and as a result, were more equipped to serve families and organizations in the community with childcare needs. Lainey logged 84 hours on her project through the many tasks of preparation, event planning, and coordination and hosting of the event. The project was twofold, and some of the attendees then put those learned skills into action and helped provide care for the babies of The Sparrow’s Nest Maternity Home in Jayton at a later date. Lainey’s hope for the sustainability of the project is that the attendees will be more competent and confident babysitters and serve the community well now and for years to come. Lainey learned through this project that she really enjoys event planning and coordination, and it has also reinforced her love for education and her desire to be a future educator.
Many organizations, businesses, and individuals helped make this project a success. Lainey would like to recognize and give special thanks to Kent County EMS, Holly Chisum and Harley Chisum, Jayton-Girard ISD staff and administration, Sparrow’s Nest Maternity Home and Executive Director Sky Gregory, JGISD Childcare Center and staff Nicole Herzog and Catherine Lowery, The Texas Spur, Adriana Cox, Marsha Smith, Kenedy Gibson, Jessica and BJ Baldridge, Missy Redford, The Greenhouse and Summer Reel, Leela Cherry, Kyra Sloan and The Shine Studio, Kent County General Store, Mesquite Grove Ranch, Tindol Insurance Agency and Project Advisor Sadie Glosson. Lainey has bridged to the Senior level in Girl Scouting and aspires to continue her journey through her high school years.
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