Westfield Girl Scout Troop Builds Little Library For Bronze Award

WESTFIELD, NJ — Tamaques Elementary School's fifth grade girl scout troop 40445 both funded and built a little library for their Bronze Award project. The mini library was installed at the elementary school on Thursday.

As part of the project, the group of girls put together a proposal, including a budget, timeline and rationale for the library, which they presented to Principal Davis Duelks in December of 2021. As a result of their successful project, the girls will earn their Bronze Award at a ceremony to be held in May.

According to troop leader Elyssa McMullen, once their proposal was approved, the girls hosted a hot chocolate fundraiser and used troop funds to purchase a library kit and other supplies. They then collaborated to create the library's final design, which included the Tamaques tiger's logo, as well as a chalkboard area for book requests and recommendations.

Finally, McMullen said the girls hosted a week-long book drive at the school in order to provide a fully stocked library on day one of its opening. Extra books will likely be stored at the school library so there are always books available to students year-round, McMullen explained.

Besides McMullen, Janice Cmielewski is also a troop leader, and both Principal Duelks and Janitor Harry were huge supporters of the project.

The girls included in the project are:
Allie McMullen
Maia Cmielewski
Josephine Nicholson
Celine Zhang
Gabriella Panarese
Nina Patel
Navya Karthikeyan

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