Gold Award Ceremony

     I recently attended the ceremony for my area's Gold Award recipients.  I was one of the four girls in my town to receive this award and I am so proud of that.  Mr. Jaccard, the founder of Safe Haven, also informed me, as well as the entire auditorium, that one of the business cards that I had made saved a life.  I am so humbled by this and it has made me think of the impact that any one person can make if enough effort is put in.  I hope that you all decide to have a project towards a cause that you believe in because maybe you will be able to save a life as well.  For my project, I received the "Torch of Life" award for my work and the fact that a newborn was saved.

My Brochure About Safe Haven

Flyer for my Patch Program

Final Troop Visit

So today, I visited my last Girl Scout troop and it was a pleasure.  I was nervous when the girls were quiet, but they were just really concentrated on what I was doing.  I feel like they really enjoyed my activities because they were age-appropriate.  This troop was a Brownie troop, so the activities were Bingo, creating a quilt square, playing "concentration"/"memory", and creating a scrapbook piece of paper full of things that make them feel good about themselves in the hope that it makes the mothers at the local Safe House happy to see.

Another Update

Hey everyone!  Last Friday, I visited a Daisy troop at my old elementary school and it was a weird experience being back there.  Regardless, the troop that I visited was a fantastic one, possibly even the best one I've visited!  They were so well-behaved, helpful, and answered all of my questions.  Regardless, it was a very enjoyable visit and I'm so glad to be able to educate all of these young children on Safe Haven and all that they do while implementing fun activities and crafts!  They all looked so excited when I brought out the Bingo boards.

I hope to soon finish my final paperwork for my project.  It's been a lot of work, but enjoyable as well.

Gina

What I've Been Up To Recently

Hi everyone!  I have visited three Girl Scout troops so far and have had success each time!

I have also created a brochure that will--hopefully--be put into clinics and doctors' offices to raise awareness as well.

I also put together all of the donations that I have collected for Safe Haven as well as the quilt and brought them over to a local Safe House today!  Mr. Jaccard (the founder) was very excited to see all of the donations that I have gotten.

I would like to take a moment to thank everyone who has donated because your donations have been overwhelming and so kind and generous.  Thank you all!

In the bags are many packages of diapers, bottles, toys, games, stuffed animals, soap, shampoo, and much more!

Business Cards

        Hey guys! I recently made up business cards and JAMAR printing generously donated the mass-production of them to me!  I am so thankful for this.  I added the QR code that will link anyone who has this business card to this site and I am very excited for what this could lead to.  I plan to give these out at the various events I attend.

Update 1-24-2014

I've visited another Girl Scout troop, this time, Daisies!  The troop was great and they seemed to really enjoy the crafts I had planned.  We started off with Bingo and we talked about some of the symbols on the board.  I then gave them cards that I had made (because of the age group, it was easier if I just made the cards and then they decorated them), and they had a lot of fun with that too.  After that, we played a few rounds of "Concentration"/"Memory", which was also a hit.  The next activity was the girls decorating the quilt squares for a potential second Quilt of Hope--it depends on how many more squares I get from the next few troops.  We ended with the girls putting their cards and items in a baby tub that the troop leaders were kind enough to donate with troop funds.

Update!

Hey everyone!  I finished my quilt, which can be seen below.  It took a lot of time as well as blood, sweat and tears (not really!), but it's done!  Of course, since I have three more troops to visit, I may end up making another, but I think it's worth it.  To me, the "Quilt of Hope" will be able to serve as a sense of inspiration to the mothers and mothers-to-be who stay at the Safe House because it shows that a bunch of young people support them and care.

December 24, 2013

First of all, Merry Christmas Eve and Happy Holidays to all of my viewers!  Last Friday, I visited a Brownie Girl Scout troop and presented my project to them.  I taught them about Safe Haven and how it "helps mommies who are in trouble" (Brownies are in elementary school so it had to be in simple terms) and played games with them.  I worked on crafts with them, which included each girl making a Quilt Square and a Binder Sheet.  The squares will be put into a "Quilt of Hope" which will be hung in a local Safe House to serve as a bit of inspiration and, well, hope to the mothers who stay there!  The sheets are basically a scrapbook page that is full of things that the girls enjoy, what makes them happy, and various "positive words" and phrases.  The purpose of this is to put this into one big binder that will be at the Safe House so that the mothers can look through it and have something to make them smile because these girls were able to find things that make them smile too.

I will keep you all updated with any new things!

Happy Holidays!

My first troop meeting

On 11/18, I met with my first troop (ended up being two!) and it went well!  We started with a round of Bingo and then discussed Safe Haven and basically what the foundation is and does.  So we did a few other activities, one of which was having the girls get into pairs and perform skits!  They allowed the other girls to demonstrate their knowledge and see what they could do if they ended up in the position of a woman who was pregnant and could not keep the baby.  I look forward to meeting with all of the future troops and that is it for now!

I just finished a "Scavenger Hunt" that I will be doing with the Girl Scout troops that I will be visiting!  Give it a shot:

Here is a blank copy

Here are the answers

11/10/13

Right now, I am working on a patch program that is going to begin to be piloted very soon!  This is exciting news because it will become possible for young people to learn about Safe Haven and the wonderful things that it can do.  My major goal with this is to raise awareness of the foundation because I want women to know that they DO have another option:  relinquishment.  If you are pregnant and cannot keep your baby but do not want people to be able to find out that you had a child, you can safely relinquish your child at a "Safe Place" where no questions will be asked.  To me, this is a fantastic thing because many young people do not know what options are out there for them and this truly does save many lives.

If you have any questions, feel free to comment below!

Project Update

At the moment, I am currently working on making Brochures to put at clinics about my project and what Safe Haven does.
Also, I am working on making a teen advisory board so if anyone would like to help with that, please please please contact me!
Another thing I am working on is making a patch program that will educate all age-levels of children so that a small child will know that the sign means that it's a place where "Mommy's in distress can go if they do not now what to do" all the way to a teenage girl who does not have the means to support her baby knowing that she can relinquish her baby without any questions asked.

Feel free to comment with questions!

Safe Haven Wing Cook-off

This weekend, I attended the cook-off for wings at a local venue and displayed my board.  I was able to talk to several families about my project and what I intend to do.  Want to get involved? Contact me by leaving a comment and I will let you know how I can use your help!

Need Something To Do With Children?

Well here's a word search and a maze!

Village Street Fair

Recently, my town had a street fair in which I displayed my project.  Here are some pictures!

This picture is with an Assemblyman Saladino

Pregnant and Don't Know What To Do?

Don't panic, just contact either me or visit the official Safe Haven site here.

In case you don't know, the Safe Haven Foundation has been operating for over 10 years and has saved hundreds of babies.

If you just gave birth or are about to, you can take advantage of the Safe Haven Going Yellow Program (piloted in New York, USA, so please be patient if it is not at your location yet) and get transportation to the nearest hospital.

Or if you are pregnant and do not have a place to live, you can come live at a "Safe House" which basically allows you to live on your own, free of rent.

So what are my plans for my project?

Well, I have a few ideas in motion:

• Creating a blog
• Creating a brochure to put in clinics
• Raising awareness

• Creating a “Safe Haven Service Day”

Have a question on any of these? Feel free to ask a question here!

Any Questions?

I cannot seem to figure out how to make an ask box on here, so for now, you can ask anything on my account here on ask.fm and feel free to ask anonymously!