THE GIRL SCOUTS OF SAN JACINTO COUNCIL recently celebrated the news of 122 of its members receiving the Gold Award for their work.
The Gold Award is the highest award a Girl Scout can earn. To receive it, a scout must tackle an issue in a way that will drive lasting change in their community. Combined, this year’s Gold Award Girl Scouts spent nearly 10,000 hours in action for their communities. Examples of this year’s projects include:
∙ Abigail Plunkett developed a two-week summer camp for children with cognitive and/or physical disabilities and also built an ADA ramp for a local theater.
∙ Kathleen Durbin worked to support animal shelters & pet adoption by building equipment for local shelters and giving presentations about pet adoption.
∙ Jordan Fein founded Flower Power Gives, which shares validation, joy, and hope with salvaged flowers from events. 50 volunteers delivered over $200,000 in flowers to 500 recipients.
∙ Annika Gill of Friendswood created and held tennis clinics for 50 elementary-aged children to combat childhood obesity. She also created a booklet of nutrition and exercise tips.
∙ Meg Rubenstein developed a Creative Acts of Kindness are Easy campaign for 3rd graders at 3 elementary schools to teach the importance of kindness, resulting in 1,650 initial acts of kindness.
∙ Cecilia Rojas of Santa Fe Junior High School created a memorial for Kimberly Vaughan, girl scout and victim of the Santa Fe High School shooting. Kim’s Space in the Junior High Library helps students calm down and feel safe.
The Gold Award opens doors to scholarships, preferred admission tracks for college, and amazing career opportunities. As a matter of fact, one of this year’s Gold Award Girl Scout has already leveraged her Gold Award to earn over $12,000 in scholarships.
The celebration looked a bit different this year due to COVID-19, with a porch drop parade and a virtual ceremony in lieu of our traditional in-person event.
“We are in the midst of an immensely challenging moment of history and are facing some of the toughest issues of our lifetime,” said San Jacinto Council CEO Mary Vitek. “That is why this ceremony feels more important than ever. The Girl Scout Gold Award is the mark of the truly remarkable proof that a girl is capable of making the world a better place.
“Today, we will recognize over 100 of these remarkable girls who have stepped up to be part of the next generation of leaders and change makers. They are truly Girl Scouts of San Jacinto Council’s finest.”
