The School Buzz: Swink HS student earns Girl Scouts ‘Gold Award’ with ‘Birthday In A Bag’ program

Only 33 girl scouts across Colorado earned the prestigious distinction of being recognized as a “Gold Award” Girl Scout in 2021. Bethany Taullie is one of them, and for good reason.

The Swink High School (La Junta) student started a program called "Bethany's Birthday In A Bag." Already it's helped more than a 100 local kids celebrate their birthdays with presents and cake, kids who may otherwise may have not been able to if not for Bethany's generous effort.

Bethany started her program last year, collecting cake mix, crafts, stuffed animals and games, assembling more than 100 birthday bags – all given out to elementary schools and foster care systems in the area. Bethany says her Birthday In A Bag program gained three girls from her school as volunteers and another girl from Otero County. Bethany trained them, and once she goes to college Bethany says “they will continue the project,” and “they will find new people to recruit, keeping the organization alive in our community.”

The project is also gaining momentum in Denver and is being shared with other young girl groups around the state. Bethany added “I want to share with the world that there is a significant joy in giving to others.”

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