Girl Scouts Partners with “Professional Women in Building” to Earn Woodworking Badge

Girl Scouts from all over the Western Slope earned their woodworking badges this past fall in a partnership between Girl Scouts of Colorado and Professional Women in Building of Western Colorado. The event, held on November 9, 2019, allowed 35 girls between the ages of 10 and 14 to learn a variety of woodworking skills, such as hammering, using both manual and power screwdrivers, leveling and sawing. After spending the day learning how to use tools, the girls put their new skills to the test by building a wooden candy dispenser. 

“It’s a really neat opportunity for them to try something new, which is what we love to see in Girl Scouts,” says Allison Ellington, regional manager of Girl Scouts of Colorado. “They’re learning the first skills of working with wood. They’re learning perseverance, and once they develop these skills, they can go on and do more.”

The event space was full of young girls in pink hardhats, nailing their initials into pieces of wood and chatting over the rumble of power drills and hammers against metal. Assisting them were members of Professional Women in Building of Western Colorado, a local chapter that was formed to unite women who work in the building industry, including homebuilders, architects, real estate professionals and more.

“The PWB is for empowering women,” says Carrie Frazier, member of Professional Women in Building of Western Colorado and accountant for Keystone Custom Builders. “Even though I’m a bookkeeper by trade, I actually built a playhouse for my grandkids this year. It was so empowering. To be able to have that confidence to do it yourself is why I was really excited about this event for the Girl Scouts.”

Photos by Deb Hogstad, PWB of Western Colorado.

The event was held at Junction Station, a local coworking space in Grand Junction. Girl Scout families from across Colorado travelled to attend the event. Attendees traveled from Aspen, Basalt, Glenwood Springs and Newcastle. This was the first local Girl Scouts event of its kind, and Ellington anticipates that it will become recurring due to the great turnout.

“We want girls to be empowered to do whatever they want, whether it’s in space and aeronautics or skilled trades like this. And oftentimes, we hear the greatest success stories; after girls try these things at Girl Scouts, it ignites a passion in them, and they go on to find their career in that area, or a lifelong hobby, and that is just fantastic,” Ellington says.

“It’s not too late to be in Girl Scouts,” she adds. "Anybody can join and try new things at any time. We take girls from kindergarten to seniors in high school, and adults can come volunteer with something they’re passionate about. 

To get involved with the Girl Scouts’ upcoming projects and events, visit girlscoutsofcolorado.org.