2025 Reflections Program

TRUE HOWARD Motivated to help area shelter dogs find comfort and reduce their anxiety, True designed and created snuffle mats to earn the Girl Scout Gold Award. Snuffle mats are puzzle feeders for dogs to encourage them to use their noses to “snuffle” through the fabric, providing mental and physical stimulation and preventing overeating due to anxiety. True’s mats were made from recycled materials, using remnant fleece and old fatigue mats. She conducted teaching workshops for a variety of groups including Girl Scout troops, her high school and Team Activities for Special Kids (TASK) where she instructed them on how to assemble the mats. She ultimately donated 58 mats, and an instructional flyer to the Humane Society of Missouri. “There are about 3,500 shelters across America with dogs who suffer from food anxiety. One way to highly benefit all the shelter dogs across the country is with snuffle mats which would help them be better dogs and have higher chances of getting into new homes.” PAIGE JACKSON Paige’s Gold Award project addressed the importance of first aid safety within her school environment and local community, while supporting refugee families coming to the area who may not have basic first aid supplies at their disposal. Paige and her team of peers partnered with Humankind STL and Welcome Neighbor to raise funds to purchase first aid kits, and shop for basic over the-counter medicine for refugee families. She translated the over-the counter medicine labels into the languages Pashto and Dari and assembled kits for the families. Paige also developed a presentation that addressed the need for education on emergency preparedness and refugee support and presented her findings to Girl Scout troops and her school, including 450 students and 20 faculty and staff. “I feel like I was able to impress upon my peers an empathic spirit and understanding of families within our community that need to uproot their lives for the safety of their families. I put a project plan in place and executed that project while learning how to effectively lead people.”

District 10, Troop 3565 Seckman High School 13 years in Girl Scouts Milestones Girl Scout Silver Award 13-year Girl Scout 2024 Graduate Girl Scout

District 14, Juliette St. Joseph's Academy 13 years in Girl Scouts Milestones Girl Scout Bronze Award Girl Scout Silver Award 13-Year Girl Scout 2024 Graduate Girl Scout