10-year-old girls provide Free Little Library

CENTRE HALL — Isabella Card and Rileigh Weaver, both 10 years old, have just completed a Junior Scout project that is accepted as a Bronze Award — the first level of Girl Scouts awards.

Those travelling past 128 E. Wilson Street in Centre Hall will notice a new building in the neighborhood. It is a freshly built Free Little Library, and the girls completed it with help from Brownies and Cadets of Troop 40046.

The Bronze Award is the highest honor a Junior Scout can achieve. Scout Leader Adrian Weaver, using the Girl Scouts Bronze Award approval checklist, gave the nod for the award, which is awarded to Junior Scouts who complete a journey leading to a take-action project.

A take-action project involves observing a need or problem in the community, looking into the possible cause and devising a plan to eliminate the problem or fulfill the need. These efforts benefit the community.

A take-action project is not service hours or community service projects, like donations or collecting. It is a team project which Scouts Isabella Card and Rileigh Weaver fulfilled by engaging the Cadets and the Brownies to assist them in making bookends, that were lettered and painted and attached to the sides of the Little Free Library.

The book ends mirror some of the book titles inside the library container.

“We have books for kids and adults,” said Isabella. “We got the Brownies and Cadets to do some of the painting.”

The girls carried out every stage of the project with the help of their parents.

“We had parental supervision when we cut the wood,” said Rileigh. “One of the parents was always with us. My dad made the slanted tin roof so the rain would drain off. But we shopped for the cement and helped mix it for the area around the post.”

Isabella said, “We got to pick out the flowers we planted around the post, too.”

The scouts said that they spent at least two months on the project after they chose it. Because of the pandemic, the Centre Hall Library was closed and the girls felt the area needed another place to get convenient and free books. With some ideas found on Pinterest, they got to work. They bought some of the wood and a scout’s parent contributed the post wood.

Little Free Library is the world’s most significant book-sharing movement. It inspires readers, makes books more accessible for everyone and builds good relationships in the neighborhoods where they pop up.

“One of the best parts of building the library was working together and sharing chores,” said Rileigh. Of course, that helped fulfill the Girl Scout goals of working in companionship with others.

Isabella echoed her colleagues’ remarks, and said she enjoyed placing the books in the finished library most of all.

“It’s nice to find a niche in the community where you can change something for the better,” said Heather Card, Isabella’s mother and assistant scout leader of the troop.

The girls said their neighborhood is about to get noisier once summer arrives due to the Centre Hall Yard Sale and the traffic that increases during the Grange Fair. They agreed their neighborhood is a pleasant place to walk, and the passersby will surely notice their Little Free Library along East Wilson Street.

“It’s great to help them with an activity that teaches them to work together and to learn to give back,” said Adrian Weaver.

The girls — fifth-graders at Centre Hall Elementary, are eager for folks to start taking the books — and hopefully donating some for others to carry home and enjoy.