Arnold Teen Earns Gold Award With Back-To-School Depot

It doesn’t take a straight-A student to know that going back to school can be stressful for parents and students. There are forms to fill out, schedules to learn, bus routes to memorize, and supplies and clothes to purchase. For many families in Anne Arundel County, back-to-school shopping puts a tremendous strain on the household budget. For her Girl Scout Gold Award project, Indian Creek School senior and Arnold resident Kara Mathews organized an event to provide school supplies and clothing to deserving families in the area.

On August 25 and 26, Mathews hosted a back-to-school depot at College Parkway Baptist Church in Arnold. To prepare for the event, she collected clothes, clothing accessories, and school supplies from friends, family, College Parkway Baptist members and organizations such as Christ Lutheran in Millersville, which collected school supplies during its Vacation Bible School. Mathews also posted a call for donations on Facebook.

“I know how expensive back-to-school shopping can be, so I wanted to do something to help the families in our area that need some assistance,” said Mathews. “Kids will have a better start to their school year if they are prepared and have the necessities. At any given time, people from all neighborhoods and backgrounds could use a helping hand.”

Heisy Hernandez, a fourth-grade student at Walter S. Mills-Parole Elementary School, attended the event with her family. Heisy and her siblings picked up school supplies and some trendy outfits.

Before the event, Mathews said, “I hope to help many children and their families so their back-to-school process is as smooth as possible. I honestly have no idea how many kids are going to be at the event. But I am hoping to have around 100 kids.”

Mathews may have hoped for 100 families, but by the end of the event, approximately 400 families attended and were helped by the back-to-school depot. Every item given away was at no charge.

Mathews only asked families to pay-it-forward when they could. Self-addressed and stamped postcards were given to every family. “I asked them to write me a little note to let me know how they spread kindness after they get home,” Mathews said. “I plan to make a mural with all of the postcards that come back to me, and I am excited to read what people will do to help others.

“I think Girl Scouts teaches girls to become the best they can be and to be young leaders in our community through working on service projects,” added Mathews, who joined Girls Scouts in the fourth grade. “Girl Scouts is important to me because I think giving back to the community is vital, and I enjoy spending time with the other girls in my troop.”

Mathews thanked her parents, David and Allison Mathews (also Troop 4608 leader), for their support through the project, as well as pastors Patrick DeVane and Jenelle Mejia for providing the space to hold the event.

Girl Scouts of Central Maryland was established in 1962 and has a combined girl and adult membership of more than 35,000, with girls participating in 2,000 troops across the state.

The Gold Award is the highest achievement within the Girl Scouts of the USA, earned by Senior and Ambassador Girl Scouts. Only 5.4 percent of eligible Girl Scouts successfully earn the Gold Award.