Silver Award Girl Scout, Taylor Mario

The Cat Litter Project

Taylor discovered that there are people in her community that have a hard time providing for themselves and they rely on services and organizations, such as food pantries, to help them get by. She found out that many of these people have pets to provide them comfort and companionship, which led Taylor to the realization that food insecurity doesn’t affect just people, it can affect their pets too. She decided the focus of her Silver Award project would address this issue.

Taylor determined that the best way to make an impact with her project was by teaming up with Dogwill, a local nonprofit mobile pet pantry that supplies pet-parents in need with basic pet necessities, to collect reusable cat litter containers. Taylor put her leadership skills into action by talking with local businesses to establish collection stations throughout her community. In total, Taylor created 5 collection stations and spread the word about her project by tabling at community events and having an article published in a local newspaper.

Taylor ensured the continuation of her project by having businesses agree to keep her collection stations in place and by educating Dogwill on how often to check-in on the collection stations. She also provided them with flyers to post around town to advertise the collection stations.

Taylor says that “I’ve learned to have more self-confidence and be more comfortable talking with the public and working with people in my community. With these skills I have learned how to better communicate about this issue that I support and feel is very important to this world today.”