Bentley Rae Roberts, a member of American Heritage Girls FL0014 in Plant City, just became the 12th girl in Florida to receive the prestigious Stars and Stripes Award.
For Bentley Rae Roberts, service comes naturally.
Roberts, a homeschooled high school senior, is a five-time recipient of the President’s Volunteer Service Award and has over 1,000 community service hours under her belt.
“That’s where my heart is,” Roberts said. “I do it because that’s what I love to do.”
For the last year and one half, the 18-year-old spent her time improving the food distribution warehouse of Restoring Hope Global, a Christian organization dedicated to outreach and helping those in need.
It was her most involved project yet — and one of the ones closest to her heart. Roberts chose to help Restoring Hope Global as her service project for the Stars and Stripes Award, the highest service award given out to members of American Heritage Girls.
After completing her service project in September, Roberts was officially approved for the Stars and Stripes Award in late October. She is only the 12th American Heritage Girl in the state of Florida to receive the prestigious award.
“I want to continue with it,” Roberts said. “And I definitely, definitely want to put my kids in American
Heritage Girls one day.”
Dedicated to Service
A faith-based scouting organization, Roberts joined American Heritage Girls when she was in middle school.
“One of my mom’s best friend’s daughters was doing it,” Roberts said.
The family joined a local troop, later transitioning into a Plant City troop. She currently belongs to FL0014 in Plant City.
“I liked the social aspect,” Roberts said. “I’ve always been a very social person. I liked mentoring the younger girls. The girls liked touching my sash with all my badges. That was something that really struck a chord in me, when a little girl would ask, ‘What’s that badge?’ That kind of gives it more purpose.”
Similar to other scouting organizations, members of American Heritage Girls must complete community service projects and activities to earn badges. The Stars and Stripes Award, the highest honor, must be completed before a member’s 18th birthday, must be approved at the national level and requires mentors at both the local and national level.
“I had been volunteering with Restoring Hope Global and saw the need,” Roberts said. “I asked them for a wish list and walked through the warehouse with them.”
Roberts had her work cut out for her. The warehouse, located on Jerry Smith Road in Dover, needed a functioning children’s area, new landscaping and rail work, paint work and more.
While she could have focused on one aspect for her project, Roberts combined multiple parts of the wish list into her service agenda.
“I painted the walls, floors and shelves,” she said. “I fixed the children’s area inside the warehouse. I added landscaping, a sign outside and I redid the rickety railing outside and added a gate.”
With the exception of paint, the majority of Roberts’ materials for the project were donated, including two freezers for food and a couch and television for the children’s area.
“I wrote letters to people in the community, and I personally met with some people,” Roberts said. “The couch was donated by Badcock & More and the tubing for the railing was donated by Tampa Bay Steel.”
Additional work on the outside included landscaping improvements and adding lights to the exterior of the building.
Inside, volunteers needed an area where their children would be safe.
“I built half walls inside and added carpet squares,” Roberts said. “We added a gate and got a TV donated.”
As part of the project, Roberts also had to oversee volunteer teams and supervise youth who assisted with the project. Upon completion, she had to send a binder detailing her work to American Heritage Girls and attend a board of review assessment.
After passing her board of review, Roberts had to receive final approval from American Heritage Girls Founder Patti Garibay. She officially earned her Stars and Stripes Award in October, and had a ceremony commemorating the honor in January.
“My takeaway is to be prepared for anything,” Roberts said. “I learned to be patient through the process.”
For Roberts, the honor goes beyond the award and back to her heart and passion for the community. In her application, Roberts spoke about the lasting impact of Restoring Hope Global and how she hopes to continue to inspire and serve.
“The impact of my project will fade,” Roberts wrote. “Paint will chip again, normal wear and tear will start to show … but the awareness from the community that I have brought forward during the course of my project will still shine.”
Contact Emily Topper at etopper@plantcityobserver.com.
