Girl Scout Installs Little Free Library For Children In Bourne
A Little Free Library for children has officially been installed at a Monument Beach playground by local Girl Scout Maggie Shea.
Maggie, a member of Troop 62919 in Bourne, first pitched the project, which is for her Silver Award, to the Bourne Select Board in January, where she was met with unanimous support. The Silver Award, Maggie explained, is the second-highest award a Girl Scout can earn and the highest award for her age level.
The 14-year-old said she chose a book-focused project because reading, especially at a young age, is very important.
“Reading helps you be less stressed and it also makes you smarter,” she said. “If you start reading at a younger age, you will grow up having a better understanding of the world. I noticed that in Bourne we had little free libraries but they’re mostly for adults, and there are not that many kids’ books in there, so I’m making a little free library just for kids’ books.”
After about a year of working on the project, Maggie’s Little Free Library is finally complete. Assembled with the help of her moms using money from a bake sale held at the Jonathan Bourne Public Library last fall, the small structure was installed yesterday. The library was able to provide Maggie with children’s books to start the Little Free Library, and some individuals have already donated more.
Community members are invited to both take and drop off children’s books at the Little Free Library. Maggie is excited that her project is complete and is already looking ahead to the future of her Girl Scout career. With the dissolution of Troop 62919, Maggie is deciding whether to join a new troop or become what the Girl Scouts call a Juliette, which is an individually registered Girl Scout.