Rachel Bergmann of Merrill, recently earned her Girl Scout Gold Award.
Rachel’s project was inspired by her work with her church, making “Little Dresses for Africa”. This organization has a side project called Sani-Panties.
“My project is based on women’s health and wellness,” Bergmann explains. “I educated my community about the need for reusable sanitary menstrual supplies, for girls in underdeveloped countries who have no access to one-time use supplies, or to the means of disposal. I did this through a series of sewing days, making reusable menstrual pads to send to these girls. I chose to do this because I am interested in women’s health and female empowerment. Throughout this project, I could not help but feel so overjoyed and inspired by the care these other women were putting into my project. Many of the groups I contacted, plan to continue this event on their own. Several individual seamstresses also plan to continue making pads on their own.”
Rachel held workshops at Christ United Methodist Church in Merrill and First United Methodist Church in Wausau. She also contacted one of her former pastors and passed the process along to Darlington-Fayette United Methodist Church. Rachel presented her project at several Girl Scout events and to a local women’s club. When Rachel submitted her final report to Girl Scouts of the Northwestern Great Lakes Council, she was told by her project mentor that her project was one of the best she had ever seen, as far as getting other groups involved, and that it was a great example of what a Take Action project looks like.
Rachel is a junior at Wausau-Newman Catholic High School. She is an honor roll student who performs regularly with Wausau Community Theatre, is a member of the National Honor Society, and a student Ambassador. She also studies piano and Shorei-Kempo karate.
The Girl Scout Gold Award is the highest and most prestigious award in Girl Scouts. Rachel will receive her official Gold Award at the Girl Scouts of Distinction Luncheon on May 5. Rachel is the daughter of Amy and Len Bergmann of Merrill.