Girl Scout Hannah Burchard chooses CHM for her Gold Award project

Hannah Burchard’s Gold Award project included tasks to increase awareness of CHM’s impact in our community, point prospective clients to the social service agencies that offer accessibility and mobility services, and gather a group of volunteers together to perform a CHM build project.  She excelled in all of these areas and we feel so blessed that she chose us for her project.

Please take a moment to watch the video that she produced on the day of her team’s project, August 3, 2019, and read her story in her own words.

Hannah’s Story:

My name is Hannah Burchard and I have been a Girl Scout since kindergarten. I have been a volunteer with Chesapeake Housing Mission for four years through my church’s ASP group. Knowing what CHM does for our community, it was an easy decision for me to want to partner with them as I started my Girl Scout Gold Award project.

 I have seen extreme levels of poverty, and the hardships that people have to face on a daily basis.  Some of this poverty exists right here in our own community. I have learned that I may not have a lot of money to put towards fixing a problem, but I can always donate my time, and it is just as beneficial as donating large sums of money. For my Gold Award, I wanted to create sustainable resources to increase the pool of volunteers for CHM, which ideally will lead to an increased number of wheelchair ramps for the people that need them. I gathered a team to build a ramp and documented the process to create a new video for CHM, “Give a Day, Change a Life”.   I wanted to show how rewarding it is for a group of people to come together and donate one day of their time, which immediately and positively impacts the quality of a family’s life that has to contend with mobility issues.

When a homeowner can leave their house on their own, without worrying for their safety or requiring help, that gives them independence and their family peace of mind. In addition to the family receiving the ramp, the volunteers also gain several important things: camaraderie, confidence in their own abilities, and the knowledge that they helped someone in need and it only required one day of their time. I want to strengthen my community, which is why I chose this project.