Gold Award Spotlight: Homebound Care Package Program
Girl Scout Ambassador Jenna earned the Gold Award by helping seniors in her church stay connected with their friends and family. Her project was a beautiful example of intergenerational kindness and community support that can make a meaningful difference in people’s lives. Jenna dedicated over 80 hours of leadership and service towards ensuring that her congregation would remain connected, no matter where its members are.
Jenna, a member of Girl Scout Troop 1288, was awarded this honor for creating an outreach program that connected the youth of St. Kateri Tekakwitha Catholic Church located in York County, Virginia, with homebound senior parishioners. Her mission was to make all parishioners feel connected and unified, regardless of age or physical location.
Jenna learned that more than 15 members of her church are homebound or in long-term care facilities, out of medical necessity, and are unable to regularly attend services at St. Kateri. There are seven adult parishioners who visit the homebound parishioners to deliver communion, scripture, and fellowship each Sunday, but Jenna believed that the youth of her church had an untapped talent for helping seniors connect socially.
She created and hosted four events for the youth of St. Kateri to learn about the challenges faced by homebound parishioners. She showed them simple, yet meaningful, ways they can show their support, even from a distance. During each event, she shared a presentation that discussed medical challenges faced by seniors like Alzheimer’s, dementia, and mobility changes. Following the presentation, the students were invited to participate in hands-on activities like making cards and preparing freshly baked goods for the parishioners.
“The ultimate goal of my Gold Award project was to connect the younger generation of our parish with the homebound by providing encouraging messages through homemade cards and a little taste of our love with baked goods,” Jenna said. “My Gold Award aimed to ensure our homebound parishioners feel connected with St. Kateri Tekakwitha Catholic Church. Additionally, my Gold Award project was to educate the youth on the conditions that homebound parishioners are experiencing. The youth minister at St. Kateri is going to continue the project I started on a quarterly basis.”
Congratulations, Jenna!
3/25/2024: Jenna was featured in the Williamsburg Yorktown Daily.
