Before your old T-shirts or scrap fabric find themselves in the bottom of the trash can or stuffed in the back of the closet, three Blaine Girl Scouts want to give them a second life and use them to help local animals.
Aria Stevens, 11, Felicity Soileau, 11, and Amelia Morris, 10, members of the Blaine Girl Scouts Troop 40254, will host a workshop on Saturday at the Blaine Middle School gym, teaching members of the community how to upcycle old materials for a good cause.
Morris will teach participants to make dog bandanas from old T-shirts, which can be decorated with sayings like, “Adopt me!” and will be donated to Happy Tails Happy Homes, a nonprofit animal rescue organization in Bellingham.
Stevens will teach participants how to make dog tug toys made from braided strips of fabric, as well as crinkle toys made from plastic water bottles and socks. The toys will also be donated to Happy Tails Happy Homes.
Finally, Soileau will teach those in attendance how to make reusable bags from old T-shirts. Those made with donated materials will be donated to local grocery stores, or participants may bring their own T-shirt to make a reusable bag to take home.
Donations of old fabric, socks, water bottles and T-shirts are being accepted at a donation bin at the Blaine Library.
The scouts all agreed they wanted to do something to help animals for their project, and recently created a photo booth, made from spray paint and PVC pipes, and donated it to the Whatcom Humane Society to use at its adoption events.
The girls are setting out to earn a Bronze Award, the highest award a Girl Scout Junior may receive. This is Stevens’ last year as a Junior before she moves up to the Cadet rank, meaning this is her last opportunity to earn the award.
It’s a six-step process where scouts must explore their community to determine a sustainable project that will continue to have a positive impact on the community, even after the work has been completed. They must put in at least 20 hours worth of work.
Stevens explained that to win Silver and Gold awards later on in her Girl Scout career — something she hopes to achieve — she must already have a Bronze Award, which pushed her to organize something before the Girl Scout year ends at the end of the month.
“I love earning awards and badges, and filling up my vest,” Stevens said, holding out her teal vest adorned with multicolored badges.
The workshop will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Blaine Middle School gym. Supplies will be provided, and participants are welcome to bring their own supplies.
