Service Project: Little Free Beach Toy Library

What can you make with five recycled pallets and a bunch of screws?

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Laurie kemps Brownie troop set out to answer that question by building a Little Free Beach Toy Library! Inspired by the popular little free book libraries, this community sharing box gives a second life to gently used beach toys and ensures that every child visiting the shore has a shovel and bucket ready for the perfect sandcastle.

Here is how her girls took this service project from a pile of pallets to a beachside success.

Step 1: Gathering Materials & Preparation

The project kicked off with a lesson in recycling and community outreach.

The Toys: To fill the library, the girls helped source a mountain of gently used beach toys, buckets, shovels, and molds, many of which were generously donated by neighbors through Facebook Marketplace.

The Pallets: They managed to get five wooden pallets donated by a local business.

Step 2: Fabrication

With lots of enthusiastic parental help and a bunch of energetic Brownies, the troop assembled the main structure of the library.

To make sure the Brownies were hands-on for the most creative part, they fully assembled the structure to ensure it was sturdy, and then completely disassembled it. This allowed the girls to easily and safely paint every board with weather resistant paint without awkward angles getting in the way!

Girl Scout Little Free Beach Toy Library

Troop Tip: Before lifting a hammer, we made sure to obtain official permission from the local beach authorities. They were incredibly excited about the idea and welcomed us with open arms!

Step 3: Installation at Fairport Harbor Beach

Once the paint was dry, we packed up the pieces and headed up to Fairport Harbor Beach on Lake Erie.

On-site, they reassembled the library, anchored it safely, and added permanent custom signs that identified the purpose of the library and proudly acknowledged our troop’s hard work. The troop then stocked the shelves to the brim with the collected toys.

Step 4: Celebration and Instant Impact

After the hard work was done, they wrapped up the day with an annual End-of-Year Party right there on the shore.

The absolute best part of the project? Before our celebratory hotdogs were even finished cooking, Laurie and her girls got to watch local families and kids walk up, smile, and start grabbing toys to play in the sand. Seeing the immediate impact of their hard work was the perfect reward for the girls!