BEDFORD, NH – Girl Scouts of the Green and White Mountains is pleased to accept an $8,000 package of tools from Stanley Black & Decker, which will be used to teach Girl Scouts useful construction skills as they build a new cabin at summer camp this year.

The tools are part of a package of $25 million in grant funding that Stanley Black & Decker is awarding through its “Empower Makers” Global Impact Challenge. The Girl Scout council, which serves girls throughout New Hampshire and Vermont, is one of 86 organizations that will help roughly 180,000 makers throughout 2022 through this program, and one of just six Girl Scout councils to receive such an award.

“Stanley Black & Decker is immensely proud to support Girl Scouts as they work to skill and reskill the next generation of trade professionals,” said Stanley Black & Decker Vice President of Social Impact Diane Cantello. “Currently in the U.S., there are an estimated 650,000 open construction jobs and 10 million unfilled manufacturing jobs globally. Our purpose is to support ‘Those Who Make the World,’ and being able to fund educational programs and nonprofits that are revitalizing trade careers directly connects to our core mission. Thanks to this year’s Makers Grant Recipients, together we will be one step closer to closing the trade skills gap.”

Karyn L Martin, Director, Program and Properties for Girl Scouts of the Green and White Mountains, looks forward to putting the tools to good use with girls attending a two-week Cabin Crew session of summer camp at Camp Farnsworth in Thetford, Vermont, where they will build a new cabin on the camp property. Camp Farnsworth offers a progression of building experiences for Girl Scouts as young as 8, who start with maker space; grow into “you can build it,” where in past summers they have rebuilt the main campfire ring benches and made seating for fire circles for the camp; and then move into woodshop programs or on to the Cabin Crew.

Girls who helped with the Cabin Crew project last summer were amazed to see how it could be completed during their two-week camp session, and were proud of the trade skills they learned.

“Of the 12 Girl Scouts who built one cabin last summer, each found an appreciation for a particular trade,” said Martin. “While some readily grasped carpentry concepts and skills, a few were very comfortable with roofing skills and working at height, some showed patience and skills in siding the buildings, and a few specialized in building the built-in beds. Not only did each girl find her skill, they also practiced working together, as trades do in professional settings, working to a timeline and around each other’s spaces.”

Twelve Girl Scouts will work approximately three hours a day with a master carpenter to frame and raise the walls, attach tongue-and-groove siding to match existing structures, frame windows and doorways, and shingle the roof with a female volunteer roofer. They will be supervised by a female construction crew manager who has experience building housing in several countries. The cabin will sleep eight, and replace a platform tent, reducing the camp’s overall footprint on the land. The cabin will be fully screened and offer better ventilation for campers.

“One camper from last summer is returning this summer,” said Martin, “and she will be the lead for worksite safety, ensuring her skills from last summer are increasing, and we hope the 11 new Cabin Crew campers will find their preferred trade experiences while using professional tools to build a tangible cabin that they will be able to sleep in at the end of their two weeks.”

Life skills are one of the four pillars of the Girl Scout program, along with STEM, business skills, and the outdoors. Girl Scouts learn by doing, grow together, and activities are always girl-led. Girl Scouts of all backgrounds and abilities discover their strengths and rise to meet new challenges as they strive to make the world a better place.

Girl Scouts of the Green and White Mountains serves girls throughout New Hampshire and Vermont through volunteer-run troops, events, and virtual programs. Visit www.girlscoutsgwm.org to learn more.