Silver Award Girl Scout, Winter

After-school activities are a wonderful way for Maine’s youth to get involved in their communities, that’s why when Winter noticed a lack of participation in post-class gatherings—specifically ones geared towards the performing arts—she took action. Winter contacted her dance instructor to learn more about the various reasons that activities such as dance are often neglected by school-aged children and that’s when she discovered that financial barriers in her community played a massive role in the issue.

Winter faced the problem head-on, creating a free, after-school dance camp for K-2 students put on by herself and her local dance studio. Participants in the camp got to learn three different genres of dance: jazz, ballet, and hip hop, from some incredible instructors. Throughout the experience, Winter gained priceless experience from her instructors on new dance steps, how to create a dance class outline, and how to lead a warmup.

In order to increase accessibility and reach, Winter utilized her school guidance counselor to offer information on the camp to families both from within and outside her immediate community. Over the course of the camp, Winter not only taught the campers some fun new moves, but important aspects of healthy living as well such as proper stretching techniques and how to feel confident as a performer. At the end of the camp, the campers held a recital for family and friends to attend. Attendees were pleasantly surprised at the newfound skills displayed by the young dancers. Although Winter’s project came to an end, she created an outline so that the dance camp can continue to run smoothly during the summer months too.

“I learned how to take on a big project, I think that this will help me when I enter high school where there will be projects that take months like this one,” said Winter.