Crafts for Healing: A 3-Step Girl Scout Patch Program
Crafts for Healing is a three-step Girl Scout patch program designed to help scouts understand the challenges children face during hospital stays and how creativity, compassion, and service can make a meaningful difference.
Through this program, Girl Scouts will learn about pediatric illnesses, including rare childhood conditions such as uveitis and juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, as well as the treatments children may experience while hospitalized. Scouts will also explore the emotional and social challenges of hospital stays and how simple acts like crafts, donations, and community support—can bring comfort and joy to children in medical settings.
How the Patch Program Works
Scouts learn about pediatric illnesses and what life can be like for children in the hospital.
Activities may include:
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Learning about common and rare childhood illnesses
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Exploring medical treatments and hospital routines
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Understanding how hospital stays affect school, friendships, and daily life
Goal: Build empathy and understanding
Step 1: Learn
Step 2: Connect
Scouts connect emotionally to what they’ve learned and discover how creativity supports healing.
Activities may include:
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Participating in a workshop or guided discussion
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Hearing stories or watching age-appropriate videos
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Learning why playrooms, crafts, and comfort items matter
Goal: Recognize the power of creativity and compassion
Step 3: Create & Care
Scouts take action by using creativity and service to support hospitalized children.
Activities may include:
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Creating crafts, cards, or comfort items for patients
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Donating items through the hospital’s Amazon wish list
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Hosting or participating in a donation drive
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Sharing awareness materials with other troops or community groups
Goal: Turn compassion into action through creativity
Workshops & Events
We offer in-person workshops at our local Girl Scout office to support troops completing the Crafts for Healing patch program. These workshops will be available for at least two years, with the potential to continue for three years or more based on community interest.
We also host annual awareness events and donation drives at the Girl Scout office to bring scouts, families, and the community together in support of children’s hospitals.
Resources & Giving Back
To keep Crafts for Healing accessible and sustainable, we provide downloadable materials for troops and leaders, including:
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A step-by-step guide to earning the patch
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Educational resources about pediatric illnesses
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A printable flyer with a QR code to share with other troops and communities
Our website also features a direct link to the hospital’s Amazon wish list, allowing supporters to donate playroom items directly to children who need them most.
Join Crafts for Healing
Our hope is that as awareness grows, more Girl Scout troops will join the Crafts for Healing program hosting their own donation drives, sharing resources, and helping raise awareness about rare childhood illnesses.
Together, we can use creativity to comfort, connect, and heal one craft and one patch at a time.
