Rowley Girl Scout Gives Toys to Kids at the Manchester Regional Medical Center
Isabella Johnson from Rowley Iowa, has achieved the Gold Award, the highest award a Girl Scout can earn, for creating a crochet club and leading workshops to create small comfort toys for kids at the Manchester Regional Medical Center.
“I came up with this idea because a member of my troop was having some hardships in her personal life. Another Girl Scout and I made her a crochet animal, and she said it was very comforting. She was able to hold it when she was feeling down. If this made her feel this way, I thought that the kids in the hospital would also feel better if they had crochet animals to cuddle when they are scared,” says Johnson
Parents are not always prepared and ready for an emergency or for a sudden illness, so kids are often at the hospital without their regular comfort toys. The hospital has toys kids can play with while they're there, but they are typically shared with other kids so patients can’t keep their sources of comfort between appointments and hospitalizations.
“Kids with comfort items handle their anxiety and fears better while in the hospital,” explains the Gold Award Girl Scout. “After speaking to some nurses, I learned that smaller hospitals do not get as many donations as the larger hospitals, so I reached out to the hospital in Manchester, and they were excited about the crochet comfort toys.”
Johnson wanted to build a team to help crochet the toys consistently. Through her classes, she was able to teach 27 people how to crochet comfort toys and continue creating them for the hospital.
“I didn't expect to teach so many people, but it was fun, and I liked watching them smile when it clicked on how to do the stitches,” says Johnson. “It was fun to watch the hospital staff look through them and see the different kinds of toy animals people made.”
With the help of the crochet club, Johnson donated 35 comfort toys to the Manchester Regional Medical Center.
Gold Award Girl Scouts become innovative problem-solvers, empathetic leaders, confident public speakers, and focused project managers. They learn resourcefulness, tenacity, and decision-making skills, giving them an edge personally and professionally. As they transform their communities, Gold Award Girl Scouts gain tangible skills and prove they’re the leaders our world needs.
According to recent research, Gold Award Girl Scouts are more likely to fill leadership roles at work and in their personal lives and are more civically engaged than their non-Girl Scout peers. Eighty-seven percent (87%) of Gold Award Girl Scouts agree that earning their Gold Award gave them skills that help them succeed professionally. Seventy-two percent (72%) said earning their Gold Award helped them get a scholarship. Changing the world doesn’t end when a Girl Scout earns her Gold Award. Ninety-nine percent (99%) of Gold Award Girl Scout alums take on leadership roles in their everyday lives.
Johnson graduated from Independence High School in the spring of 2024 and currently attends the University of Northern Iowa.
