A busy girl herself, she felt that there were not enough opportunities for kids in the summer. So for her Bronze Award project, she created a camp for kids for one morning a week for four hours over a 4-week period. Her leadership skills blossomed each week as she led her team of volunteer helpers to make the camp fun.
The Bronze Award experience gave her the courage that she needed when she began her Silver Award project. For the award, she discovered that there was a need for local moms who couldn’t afford to pay for babysitting. Jocelyn went to her local food pantry and got approval to pass out flyers to moms who used the services of the food pantry. She created the same kind of camp that she did for the Bronze Award, but this time she worked with local parks to use pavilions free of charge, and secured a sponsor to offer the children breakfast and lunch while they were in her care. At this summer camp, Jocelyn actually met two little girls who were struggling with difficult situations. Still to this day, Jocelyn is involved in their lives as a positive role model.
In order to begin working on her Gold Award, Jocelyn had to complete a Take Action Project through a Girl Scout Journey. Her Take Action Project was centered on the Dove Self-Esteem Campaign. Through this campaign, Dove hopes to teach girls that self-esteem is not centered just on how a girl looks. Jocelyn created a workshop utilizing the Dove campaign materials, for area middle school girls promoted through her local library.
She conducted two weekend workshops where the girls completed activities to learn to appreciate themselves for who they are and not to try to be what they see in magazines and on television.
Jocelyn'a Gold Award also focused on helping people gain confidence. She organized the Pittsburgh Pro Stars, a competitive cheerleading team for kids and adults with special needs.
Jocelyn is a hardworking, compassionate, dedicated Girl Scout. She strives to be the best person she can be while helping others achieve the same goal, which is why Girl Scouts Western Pennsylvania presented Jocelyn Perry with the Girl of Distinction Award in May 2013.
