Douglas County High senior Josie O’Meara creates wellness kits for deputies, dispatchers

Douglas County High School senior Josie O’Meara completed her Girl Scout Gold Award by producing Family Wellness Kits for Douglas County deputies, dispatchers and their families, a project she announced today, Feb. 19, 2026. O’Meara designed the kits specifically to support first responders and their households with items and activities aimed at reducing stress and strengthening family bonds.

The Family Wellness Kits include stress-relief tools, structured bonding activities and a packet of resource materials intended for use by deputies, dispatchers and family members. O’Meara funded the kits with donations she solicited for the Gold Award project and assembled the kits herself as the capstone to her senior-year effort at Douglas County High School.

O’Meara said the kits are now available for checkout to the intended recipients. The checkout availability is a central feature of the project: deputies, dispatchers and their families can borrow a kit for short-term use, giving households access to stress-relief items and guided activities without the need to purchase materials. O’Meara completed the administrative steps to make the kits borrowable as part of fulfilling the Girl Scout Gold Award requirements.

The project ties directly to the local first-responder workforce in Douglas County by addressing household-level stress management and family connection for people who face irregular hours and high-stress calls. As a Douglas County High senior, O’Meara framed the Gold Award around supporting deputies and dispatchers specifically, tailoring the kits’ contents and the checkout model to the schedules and needs of emergency personnel and their families.

With the Family Wellness Kits now completed and available, the immediate next step for Douglas County deputies and dispatchers is to access the kits for use at home. O’Meara’s completion of the Girl Scout Gold Award on Feb. 19, 2026, delivers a tangible resource for local first responders and their families and establishes a loanable wellness option funded through community donations.