Three Cadette Girl Scouts who are members of the Chesapeake Bay Troop 109 recently completed their Silver Award project at the Brandywine SPCA. The scouts constructed two shade structures at the Georgetown location. Troop leaders requested that the scouts only be identified by first name and last initial.
“Emma volunteers at the Brandywine Valley SPCA – Animal Rescue Center off of Shingle Point Road in Georgetown,” Charlotte C., who assisted on the project, said when asked how the girls came up with the project. “She was aware of an issue that staff and volunteers were having with not being able to take some of the dogs out to play for too long. Many of the dogs that come into the shelter get sunburned and overheated easily. Additionally, the shade structures would help to recruit and retain volunteers who may not have been able to sit out in the sun for long periods of time.”
The Girl Scout Silver Award is a leadership project where Cadette scouts identify a community issue, develop a plan to address it and then take action to create a lasting change. The project requires 50 hours of work from each Girl Scout. Three of the scouts, Charlotte, Emma J. and Lily S. decided to combine efforts to finish the project.
“We began brainstorming project ideas in May 2024 and the structures were constructed in August 2025,” Charlotte said. “Once we made our decision, we began researching different shade structures and pricing out materials. We knew that we wanted to do as much of the labor ourselves as we could, but we also knew that we would need a lot of help to make sure everything was built safely and efficiently. We are thankful that our parents and troop leaders were able to step in and help us, but we really lucked out with free labor form Marvin Herrera and his crew from Pronest Services LLC, as well as John Merson from the Restoration Group.”
In addition to assistance in building the structures, the girls received donations from family, friends and the community large. Some of the businesses that provided them with funding and supplies were 84 Lumber, The Restoration Group, Arena’s Restaurant and Stillworks Taxidermy.
“We shared our fundraiser through social media, and we held community events to raise money,” Charlotte said. “Our favorite event was held at Arena’s in Milford this past May. We had a bake sale and invited the SPCA Mobile Pet adoption crew to join us. Lily lucked out and went home with one of the puppies.”
Charlotte has been in Girl Scouts for six years and plans to continue through high school. Emma has been a scout for nine years and Emma for three years. The 
girls say that scouts has been very beneficial to them.
“Girl Scouts have helped us in so many ways!” Charlotte said. “We have made many good friends, have learned great people skills, learned about marketing and budgeting during cookie season, have gone on some fun adventures and have learned how to give back to our community.”
Charlotte hopes to attend college after high school but is not sure yet what she wants to study. She is considering veterinary medicine or sports law, commenting that the “skies the limit!” The girls say that the SPCA Animal Rescue Center could use ten more shade shelters. They hope that their efforts will encourage other local scouts or service organizations to get in touch with them and see how they can help with funding or construction of additional shelters.
“Emma, Lily and I are so grateful to have had such tremendous support,” Charlotte said. “The SPCA staff and volunteers are thankful and so are the doggies!”
