Local Girl Scout Earns Her Girl Scout Gold Award for Installing Mini Libraries to Boost Literacy
Girl Scouts of the Missouri Heartland is thrilled to announce that Ashley Wilkerson is the Gold Award Girl Scout from Columbia, Missouri for her extraordinary action addressing children’s literacy.
Ashley was first inspired to take on this project when Covid-19 impacted her communities’ access to public libraries. She was concerned about how it would affect children still learning to read. With the libraries closing, their access to books was being stripped from them. Ashley decided to take matters into her own hands by building and installing free mini libraries across her community in neighborhoods with a higher family population to reach more kids. She said, “Many people do not have access or the ability to get to a public library, these mini libraries located near their homes will give them access to books all the time.” Ashley’s actions gave children the opportunity to check out and turn in books at their own pace. To spread awareness of the new mini libraries Ashley created a website to give members of the community the chance to find the libraries and learn about her gold award project.
October 27, 2023
