Silver Award Spotlight: Chill ‘Axing’ Benches for Camp Apasus and Azalea Baptist
Recently bridged Girl Scout Seniors Autumn and Elizabeth of Troop 4159 earned the Silver Award by working together to complete their project. The two Girl Scouts built a total of eight convertible benches to benefit Camp Apasus and Azalea Baptist Church, both in Norfolk, Virginia. The benches are a great way to add versatility and function to existing gathering spaces. They are designed to be used alone as a standard bench with a backrest, or in a set of two, as a full-size picnic table.
The girls built four of the convertible benches that now provide a safe and comfortable area to sit at the axe-throwing and archery ranges at Camp Apasus. Once converted, snack time or meals can be had around the table. The benches can easily be moved to the nearby fire circle for added versatility for troops and campers. After sharing the success of their project with the community, the girls were asked by Azalea Baptist Church in Norfolk to build four additional convertible benches for the community garden at the church.
Troop leader and Girl Scout volunteer Christine Janison said, “They both discovered that they had different strengths when it came to building. Elizabeth became very confident with hands-on building, while Autumn was better at support and creative ideas. The benches were completed entirely by the girls with very minimal adult involvement, other than supervision while using the power tools. They now have more confidence in knowing that they are fully capable of tackling any project they set their minds to achieving.”
We are so excited to have learned about these Girl Scouts’ new skills and we look forward to seeing the benches in action around the camp. Congratulations, Autumn and Elizabeth!
