Girl Scout Builds Playground for Kids with All Abilities
Sydney Herzmann from Cedar Falls, Iowa, has achieved the Gold Award, the highest award a Girl Scout can earn, for planning, fundraising, and leading the development of a safe playground for all kids at the Cedar Valley Soccer Complex.
“The peace of mind knowing your child is in a fenced-in, designated area for other children allows those parents to better enjoy their other children's soccer games,” says Sydney. “As Black Hawk county is rapidly changing, the playground offers support for the many different types of people and communities that could use the facilities.”
To make her dream a reality, Sydney raised $77,000 to construct the new playground at the complex. Her top priority while developing the playground was to ensure it was a safe play area for all children.
“Parents are often distracted with many things going on in life, and studies show that distracted parenting has a direct relationship to child injuries,” Sydney says. “Children are 70% more likely to get injured when a parent is distracted; having a playground creates a community watching each other's children, and keeps others safer.”
The playground not only brings peace of mind to parents but also helps young children build their skills. Sydney explains:
“Between the ages of 2 and 3, children begin to develop a sense of creativity, imagination, and playing pretend. Having access to a playground allows children to do these things openly. Children gain self-confidence and increased self-esteem when they master an activity that was previously challenging, such as climbing the stairs of a playground or going across monkey bars.”
Sydney ensured her playground would be accessible to all children. Freestanding pieces of equipment designed for kids with disabilities were installed. She also selected rubber tiles instead of wood chips, so kids in wheelchairs could access the playground.
Through achieving the Gold Award, Sydney created a new space for families in the Cedar Valley to be active while developing her communication and project management skills.
Gold Award
The Gold Award is the highest achievement a Girl Scout can earn, available to girls in high school who create sustainable change on a community or world issue. Gold Award Girl Scouts address the root cause of a problem, plan and implement innovative solutions to drive change, and lead a team of people to success. As they take action to transform their world, Gold Award Girl Scouts gain tangible skills and prove they are the leaders our community and the world need.
