Southwest Riverside County Girl Scouts Earn Prestigious Silver Award

WINCHESTER, CA — Back-to-school shopping took on a whole new meaning this year in Southwest Riverside County, thanks to a trio of Girl Scouts and their friends.

Fourteen-year-olds Kadence Middlemas, Aurora Sandoval and Chase Taylor of Girl Scout Troop 351 in Winchester wanted to help girls feel more confident about themselves. After hours of brainstorming, they decided to hold a clothing drive and "shopping event" for pre-teen/teen girls in the community. They named their project "Scout’s Closet by Troop 351."

The trio had a goal: When Girl Scouts team up to address an issue they care about in the community, they can earn a Silver Award — one of the organization's highest honors.

For about two months, the scouts collected clothing from the community by soliciting garments on Facebook. As the goods poured in, the girls sorted, washed, dried, hung and folded over 250 loads of laundry at local laundromats using money earned through cookie sales.

The trio wrangled girlfriends to help, and in August the enterprise was able to put together a two-day flash store at a nearby strip mall.

Approximately 220 shoppers turned out for the event, each able to take home back-to-school clothes for free.

For their efforts, Middlemas and Taylor each earned their Girl Scout Silver Award after dedicating more than 70 community service hours apiece toward Scout’s Closet. Sandoval put in more than 30 hours, and girlfriends Claire Wright and Lauren Wright each volunteered more than 15 hours on the project, while Roxy Taylor and Nirvana Marks put in more than 10 hours each.

The girls were also honored by Sen. Melissa Melendez.

Well done!

Girl Scout Troop 351 is out of the Girl Scouts of San Gorgonio Council (Temecula Service Unit). Jessica Middlemas is the troop's leader.