Regional Girl Scouts earn democracy badge at workshop in Salina

Around 35 regional Girl Scouts shared laughs and made new friends through a workshop hosted by the Salina League of Women Voters Saturday.

The workshop helped Girl Scouts from Kindergarten through 10th grade earn their Democracy Badge by participating in several activities geared toward understanding local, state and national government.

Activities throughout the workshop worked to foster youth interest in civic engagement and participation in the democratic process. Former Salina Mayor Kaye Crawford and Saline County Election Officer Jamie Doss also took time to share their experiences with government on the city and county level.

“We need young girls, young leaders, in local government,” Crawford said.

Growing future leaders

The three-hour long event hosted troops from Girl Scouts of Kansas Heartland, which serves 80 counties in central and western Kansas.

Scouts met at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Salina and were split into grade-level groups of K-3, 4-5, and 6-10 for the day’s activities. A primary focus during the workshop was understanding the three branches of government: legislative, executive and judicial.

To illustrate the three branches, the scouts were given three bean bags each to label “L,” “E,” and “J.” Later in the day, Salina League of Women Voters Vice President Ann Zimmerman taught the groups to juggle the bean bags.

“This is a fun activity that shows how each branch has a purpose,” Zimmerman said.

Among other activities, the groups also wrote letters and postcards to elected officials, played interactive learning games and created a framed illustration of the first year they will get to vote.

Wendy Dinkel, a parent in attendance said the event did a good job of making activities interactive and age appropriate.

Her six-year-old daughter, Brenna Conrade, said she liked the juggling activity.

“I like how we got to meet new friends and have fun,” Conrade said. “I learned a lot.”

Local leaders share government involvement

After the first round of activities, Crawford spoke about her involvement in city government and fielded questions from attentive Girl Scouts.

“I’m just really happy to be here and meet all of you,” Crawford said. “Believe it or not, I was a Brownie and I was a Girl Scout.”

Crawford shared her journey to the city commission and what the general process for becoming mayor looks like in Salina. She said city government is a lot about helping people.

“I’m telling you all this because we need women, we need girls, we need people down at city hall,” Crawford said.

Later on, Doss talked about the voting process and brought an electronic voting machine to show the scouts how it works.

Though they didn’t get to use the voting machine Saturday, they did vote on what their favorite Girl Scout Cookie was. And, of course, Thin Mints won by a single vote.

“See, this is why your vote does matter in elections,” said Lori Trow, Salina League of Women Voters President.

At the end of the workshop, the scouts watched a Schoolhouse Rock video titled “I’m just a bill” to learn about how laws are made.

“My favorite thing was meeting new friends,” said six-year-old Reina Foster. “And I really liked the part about voting.”

Kendrick Calfee has been a reporter with the Salina Journal since 2022, primarily focusing on county government and education. You can reach him at kcalfee@gannett.com or on Twitter @calfee_kc.

This article originally appeared on Salina Journal: Regional Girl Scouts earn democracy badge through Salina workshop