Baldwin Township Teen Turning Trash into Comfort

When Sarah Jugovic joined the Girl Scouts of the USA in the first grade, she never dreamed that, 11 years later, she would still be working toward realizing the values of the Girl Scouts law: to be friendly, helpful, considerate and caring, and to try to make the world a better place.

But as Jugovic, a Baldwin Township resident, works toward a Gold Award—the highest honor that the Girl Scouts bestow—she is learning firsthand what all of those values are about.

Baldwin Township does not have a recycling program, so Jugovic knew that she wanted to focus on a project that would be beneficial to the environment. At first, she looked into starting a recycling program but quickly realized that the scope of a project like that would be far greater than what she was prepared for.

Jugovic then learned about a group of women who crochet sleeping mats out of plastic shopping bags. The women then donate the mats to be used by homeless people. After meeting with one of the Washington County women who run that group, Jugovic knew that creating and distributing these mats was what she wanted to do for her final Girl Scouts project.

Jugovic's goal is to collect enough bags that will allow her to crochet 10 mats: a goal only attainable through plenty of help.

After a four-month application process in which she presented her idea and the reasons why the project met the guidelines set forth by the Girl Scouts, Jugovic is finally in full swing.

At the  on Saturday, she held a bag drive to try to collect some of the more than 10,000 bags that she'll need.

Collecting the bags is the easiest part of the project, though. After she has all of the bags that she needs, they'll all need to be cut and looped to create "plarn," or plastic yarn. The bags then need to be crocheted.

All told, each mat takes approximately 50 to 60 hours to create.

Jugovic is hoping that others in her community will offer their time and skills in making her goal a reality.

“It's not just you (herself),” Jugovic said. “You have to rely on a lot of other people to accomplish something this big. I'm quickly learning that.”

It isn't just that need for help that is bringing Jugovic out into the community. Two of the requirements for her Gold Award project are leadership and sustainability, and it is these lessons that will bring Jugovic to reach out to younger Scouts troops in the area.

Jugovic hopes to not only seek other Scouts' help in preparing the "plarn," but she hopes to teach them to crochet as well. Before that, though, she needs to learn how to crochet herself.

Currently, Jugovic is juggling studies and sports as a senior at , where she plays soccer and and is involved in a number of other extracurricular activities.

She admits that she isn't always the best at staying on task, but she has her mother, Sue Jugovic—also her Scouts Troop leader—right there to keep her focused.

“She has been more than helpful,” Sarah said of her mother. “I'm a big procrastinator, so she helps to make sure I get things done.”

Each of Sarah's mats will also contain a small pocket that she will stuff with toiletries and the phone numbers for a local soup kitchen and Operation Safety Net, a program run by the Pittsburgh Mercy Health System.

Operation Safety Net provides medical and social services to homeless individuals in the Pittsburgh area. The program was founded by Dr. Jim Withers, who actually hits the streets at night to help those in need.

Sarah is working on partnering with Withers to distribute her mats once they are completed. The clock is ticking for that to happen, though: Sarah must complete her Gold Award project by her 18th birthday, which is April 19.

Sarah is one of two members of Scouts Troop 1095 actively working on their Gold Award projects, as fellow troop member Lindsey Patton is making fleece blankets for the Alzheimer's unit of a nursing home. A third member of the troop is in the application stage of the Gold Award process.

While Sarah's troop has seen a great decline in members as she has gotten older, she still sees the level that she has reached and all that she has accomplished as a reminder of her true values.

“If I start something, I want to finish it,” Sarah said. “I’m owning it.

“I never thought I’d get to the Gold Award, and now, here I am.”

Anybody who would like to donate bags, toiletries, time or skills to Sarah's project can reach her by emailing jugovic312@verizon.net. You can also follow the progress of her project on Twitter @recyclinMATters.

Sarah has left a bin at the Baldwin Township Municipal Building (adjacent to ) for people to leave plastic bags that will assist in her project.