Whiz Kid: Jessica Shipma—Girl Scout

Whiz Kid: Jessica Shipma

School/Grade: Trabuco Hills High School, 11th grade

Whiz Kid Achievement: Jessica recently completed her Girl Scout Gold Award Project, “Bundles of Joy,” which brings hope to humanity and helps stop the cycle of poverty.

Key to Awesomeness: A Girl Scout since kindergarten, Jessica Shipma recently took her scouting experience to the next level when she completed her Gold Award project. This project requires 65 hours of time and consists of coming up with a sustainable plan, presenting it to the Girl Scout council and completing it. Jessica took this project one step further by completing a total of 250 hours in a year to receive the President’s Volunteer Service Award.

Jessica worked as an assistant youth director for The Joyful Foundation in Tustin in the summer of 2011 and taught younger kids how to make fleece-tied dog bones out of scraps from the blankets that are sewn for cancer patients. The dog bone toys are sold to fund purchasing more fabric or are donated to animal shelters. For months, she also picked up fleece scraps to recycle to help them receive their goal of zero waste.

Jessica also volunteered at the Catholic Worker’s Isaiah House Homeless Shelter in Santa Ana and taught the residents how to make fleece tied blankets for the children who attended Project Hope School in Orange. Many of these children used to live at the Isaiah House but now receive public assistance and live in motels. After receiving their “Bundles of Joy” (a fleece tied blanket and matching Beanie Baby),the Project Hope students went to the Boys and Girls Club of Tustin’s after school program and Jessica taught them how to make dog beds by stuffing pillow cases with the fleece scraps and dog bone toys made by tying the fleece scraps (like a lanyard). The dog beds and toys were then donated to the Pet Rescue Center in Mission Viejo. Jessica had previously made blankets and squeaky toys for this center when working on her Girl Scout Silver Award in the eighth grade.

Jessica learned how to make a hand appliquéd baby quilt to donate to the Illumination Foundation. They would like her to present it to an expectant mother on March 12, the 100th anniversary of Girl Scouts.

In addition to working with these various organizations, Jessica taught a Brownie Troop, a Junior Troop and an Oasis troop (an older girl troop for Cadettes, Seniors and Ambassador Girl Scouts) how to make fleece-tied blankets. She also hosted a blanket making party with her friends and family.

Jessica is a member of Girl Scout Ambassador Troop 570. A junior at Trabuco Hills High School, she plans to bridge to Adult Girl Scouts next year.

For her “above and beyond” spirit as a Girl Scout, her generosity to the community and her dedication to this innovative, environment-friendly project, Jessica  Shipma is an outstanding Whiz Kid in the community.