Two Indiana Cadette Girl Scouts are set to receive the highest honor they can earn for their volunteer work at a local long-term care facility during the pandemic.
Cadette Girl Scouts Nisha and Rayna Roy, 14 and 12, respectively, are in line to receive the Silver Award this year for their helpful work at The Restoracy of Whitestown, according to a report by Current. The 72-bed long-term care facility provides skilled nursing, rehabilitation services and memory care in Whitestown, IN.
The Silver Award requires scouts to complete 50 hours of community services for a cause they care about. The facility last year had put out an online request asking for volunteers. The girls’ mother, Diane Roy, saw the message and suggested the opportunity to her daughters.
Rayna Roy explained that her grandmother is also in a local nursing home and prior to the pandemic, she and her family got to spend a lot of time with her. Visits became far fewer since various visitation restrictions were put in place to prevent the spread of the disease in facilities.
“We wanted to make something to keep other people from getting bored since they’re all stuck at home, and they can’t really go out and do anything — so just things that could keep them busy and happy were what we wanted to do,” Roy said.
And that they did.
The sisters teamed up to make wooden welcome signs, collect Christmas donations and make craft kits for residents over the last year, according to the report. They’ve also helped the facility complete tasks such as coordinating library services, making wreaths and developing a resource binder of senior community activities.
They even had their troop, JoSheWe Troop 0065 of Central Indiana, sign Christmas carols to residents during the holidays.
“The pandemic has put several roadblocks in their way, making fundraising and social contact very challenging,” Diane Roy said. “They wanted to have direct contact with residents and invite community members to help form clubs and activities, but with COVID, everything had to be virtual.”
The girls’ mother said they two “will continue to be involved as they move forward” beyond the award.
