The parade is in full swing, the Global Game Changers camped out side by side along the sidewalk with hundreds of other excited people, watching the floats as they come around the corner. Moxie, in true Moxie fashion, is jumping up and down between them, an American flag in each hand.
“Thank you for your service!” she yells, as a platoon of Army soldiers marches by.
“Wouldn’t it be great if we could do our own Global Game Changers float for the Veterans Day Parade?” Global girl says. “That would be the service project to end all service projects.”
“That’s a tall order, even for us,” IQ responds. “Plus, we’re not old enough to drive it, and forward momentum is at least half of what makes a float a float.”
“A girl can dream, can’t she?” Global Girl says, staring up at an enormous float with VHA written across the side.
“What does VHA stand for?” Pia asks, straining to see between the taller people in front of her.
“It’s the local veterans hospital,” Acer responds. “My Grandpa goes there.”
Along with the float, a few other children are circulating at the edge of the street collecting donations with plastic VHA jars. One of the girls recognizes the Global Game Changers from school and waves. Global Girl sees her and motions her over, excited to see other people from school taking the time to Ignite Good! in the community.
“Hey!” She yells over the sound of the marching band down the street. “We don’t have any money to donate, but we want to help the veterans. Any advice?”
The girl points up to the top of the float where several military officials in uniform are waving and tossing candy out into the crowd.
“Come by the hospital after the parade,” she says. “They’re having a charity event for Veterans Day.”
“Count on it,” Moxie replies, the rest of the Global Game Changers nodding their heads excitedly, ready to leave the sidelines and put their talents to good use for the Veterans Badge.
They stay and watch the rest of the parade, but leave quickly after it ends, eager to get to the hospital and see what kind of events are planned for the rest of the day. At the VHA, they find a line of booths stretching across the parking lot, most of which feature different branches of the military. At the head of them all, a nurse sits at a wooden table with several official-looking clipboards splayed out in front of her.
“Hello, kids,” she says as they approach. “What can I do for you?”
“We’re here to help the veterans in any way that we can,” Global Girl says, speaking for the whole group. “Just point us in the right direction.”
“Well, that sounds great,” she replies, handing them a list. “We have a few different activities planned for today, so why don’t you look these over and decide what you think works best for you.”
Global Girl thanks the nurse and gathers the rest of the Global Game Changers around her so they can study the list.
“Is the plan to split up or stay together?” Pia asks.
“There are a lot of different options available,” Global Girl notes, continuing down the list. “I think the best thing we can do is treat this like any other service project.”
“How so?” Little Big Heart asks.
“By breaking it up by Talent,” she replies. “We should help with whichever activity is best suited to our Talents, that way we can be certain that we are able to Ignite Good! in the best way possible. How does that sound?”
“Sounds like a smart idea,” IQ says, pointing to an activity at the very top of the list. “This group is setting up new computers for the nurses station, I would be perfect for that! And look here, Moxie.”
Moxie follows IQ’s finger down the list. “Oh,” she squeals, “they need someone to put on a puppet show for the Child Care Center. That has me written all over it! And look, Pia, they need someone to help make the puppets too. You can use your sewing Talent!”
“Awesome!” Pia replies.
“It’s settled then,” Global Girl says. “Everyone find what best fits your Talents.”
Together they move on down the list, finding the perfect assignment for each and every one of them. It’s not how they would usually go about planning a service project, but they quickly realize that having to think on their feet is rewarding in its own way. And, by the end of the day, they know they will have done something to Ignite Good! for the veterans in their community, and that is all that really matters.
