Girl Scout Troop Spreads Smiles and Stories with Free Library
Originally posted by The Dickinson Press.
Girl Scout Troop 86710 might normally be seen with Thin Mints and Tagalongs in hand, but over the weekend they traded in their cookies for paint and power tools. The girls constructed a community library and kindness rock garden at Friendship Park.
While cookie sales are a major part of being a Girl Scout, this troop also enjoys taking time to give back to their community in other ways too. The group felt inspired to give back to the community and do something nice for the newly constructed Friendship Park, Troop Co-Leader Tiffany Ahmann said.
Ahmann, alongside Nicole Wald, leads a group of eight girls ranging from sixth to eighth grade who have been in Girl Scouts together since they were in kindergarten. Their endeavors are wholeheartedly supported by the community, with the American Legions of Dickinson and Belfield generously donating funds to the troop, enabling them to undertake meaningful projects.
“So they donated money to us and the girls decided that they would like to build a free library from that donation money to give back. Since Friendship Park was being built, I thought what better place... to build a little library so others could have books to read and share,” Ahmann said.
Little Free Library is a nonprofit organization based in Minnesota that focuses on building community and inspiring readers by expanding book access for all through neighborhood libraries like this.
Since the organization began in 2009, over 300 million books have been shared across the 150,000 registered little libraries that have been installed around the country, 8 of which have found their home in Dickinson.
The girls selected a kit from the Little Free Library, armed themselves with power tools and paint, and eagerly set to work constructing their project.
“We bought the kit. The girls read all the directions and put the kit together. We had to troubleshoot a little bit but they put the kit together. And then a little bit later came back, painted it and we did our girl scout colors of green and white. So they painted that and added our troop information on the back and then painted a collection of rocks to add with it and decided to do a kindness rock garden underneath,” Ahmann said.
The most significant driving factor for the whole project was to be able to spread some joy throughout the community, Ahmann said, but the joy was infectious for the girls too.
“They just couldn't believe it. They were so proud of themselves that they went start to finish on this project and had something sitting here in the community,” Ahmann said.
To celebrate their efforts, the troop held their own ribbon-cutting ceremony and has since made regular visits to check up on their newly constructed library.
“Everybody's been going back and checking it and seeing that the books are there and if more rocks are needed. I mean that park is constantly busy and there's a lot of books that have already been picked up from there,” Ahmann said.
For those interested in the little library, Ahmann emphasized that anyone can contribute books. Whether it's purchasing a few from the dollar store or sharing personal favorites with others, the goal is to give back to the community.
“Besides selling our cookies, we love to give back to the community,” Ahmann said.
By combining their Girl Scout spirit, determination, and community support, Troop 86710 has created access to literature and kindness in the heart of Friendship Park, showing that friendship and joy are just a stone's throw away.
