By Ralph

For 17-year-old Brandon resident Lilly Belle Nimmo, earning the highest award offered by American Heritage Girls required more than checking boxes on a list.

There were leadership requirements.

Thirteen required badges.

An essay.

Letters of recommendation.

A board of review.

And then there was the big one:

Plan, develop and lead a service project involving more than 100 hours of work.

Lilly could have viewed those hours simply as something she needed to complete.

Instead, they led her to Hope for Her, a Brandon nonprofit serving women experiencing crisis and difficult life circumstances.

And she stayed.

Looking for the Right Place to Serve

Lilly initially wanted her service project to involve a crisis center.

While researching possibilities, she discovered Hope for Her at 140 Yarbrough Road in Brandon. She began volunteering with the organization in 2024.

Hope for Her works with women dealing with crisis and trauma, providing support intended to help them address immediate needs while developing longer-term stability. The organization describes its approach as addressing several areas of well-being, including emotional, physical, relational and financial needs.

For Lilly's Stars & Stripes project, she wanted to contribute to something visitors notice the moment they walk through the door:

how the place makes them feel.

Her project helped create a calmer and more welcoming environment for women coming to Hope for Her for assistance.

That's easy to underestimate.

For someone arriving during one of the most difficult periods of her life, a space that feels safe and inviting can matter.

More Than 100 Hours

The project required Lilly to do more than volunteer.

American Heritage Girls' Stars & Stripes Award requires a candidate to plan, develop and lead her service project.

Lilly completed the required 100-plus hours, but something interesting happened afterward.

She kept coming back.

She told the Osprey Observer that she continues volunteering at Hope for Her for about three hours a week when she's able. Her work includes sorting donations, organizing supplies and helping maintain a welcoming environment for the women the organization serves.

At that point, the service was no longer simply about earning an award.

It had become something she wanted to continue doing.

A Busy Brandon Teen

Community service isn't Lilly's only responsibility.

She's a high-school senior who is dual-enrolled at Hillsborough College and pursuing a degree in political science. She also participates in competitive speech and debate and is involved with the FISH homeschooling cooperative and its Performing Arts Club.

Within American Heritage Girls Troop FL2323, she has held leadership responsibilities including serving as troop hostess and event planner.

She also serves as secretary for a Hillsborough

College chapter of Phi Theta Kappa, the honor society for two-year colleges.

That's an impressive list.

But for this story, the résumé isn't really the point.

The service is.

The Stars & Stripes Award

The Stars & Stripes Award is the highest recognition available to girl members of American Heritage Girls.

Lilly had to earn the Abigail Adams Level Award and 13 required Stars & Stripes badges, hold a troop leadership position for at least six months, prepare an essay and résumé, obtain references, complete her service project and successfully pass a board of review.

This Saturday, Sept. 26, Lilly will be formally recognized during a Court of Honor.

And fittingly, the ceremony isn't being held somewhere disconnected from the work that earned her the award.

It's happening at Hope for Her in Brandon, from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m.

When a Requirement Becomes a Habit

Awards recognize accomplishments.

But sometimes the more interesting story is what happens after the requirements have been fulfilled.

Lilly needed a major service project.

She found Hope for Her.

She completed more than 100 hours.

She earned American Heritage Girls' highest award.

And then she continued showing up.

For a teenager balancing school, college coursework, extracurricular activities and everything else that comes with being 17, those additional three hours aren't required.

They're a choice.

Perhaps that's the part of Lilly's accomplishment most worth recognizing.

The award required her to serve her community.

The experience gave her a reason to keep serving

it.