Girl Scouts of North East Ohio (GSNEO) is proud to honor 40 Gold Award Girl Scouts this year. The Girl Scout Gold Award is the highest award a Girl Scout Senior or Ambassador may earn. The Gold Award project challenges girls to identify an unmet need or core issue in their community, research and investigate it, recruit volunteers and build a team to create a plan to address the issue or need. Across Northeast Ohio, members of the community are seeing great changes take place. Elementary schools are receiving valuable STEM resources. Places of worship are seeing improvements to their buildings and to the safety of their congregations. Animals have new habitats and resources to support their populations. These things were all made possible because of Gold Award Girl Scouts!
When compared to non–Girl Scout alums, Gold Award Girl Scouts soar when it comes to seeing themselves as leaders, providing service to others through volunteerism, and having positive attitudes about themselves and the lives they lead. Over 90% of Girl Scouts not only attributed their success in life to Girl Scouts, but they also said they could not have had access to the same experiences anywhere else.
Nationwide, only five percent of eligible Girl Scouts go for the gold. This year, 59 Gold Award recipients from Northeast Ohio will join the ranks of generations of young women who are recognized for making a difference, both locally and globally. It’s not only Girl Scouts who understand the value of the Gold Award. Some universities and colleges offer scholarships unique to Gold Award recipients, and girls who enlist in the U.S. armed forces automatically enter the military one rank higher.
2020 Girl Scout Gold Award recipients including city and project title:
· Laura Angle , Akron, Make One Take One Service Craft Club
· Sarah Bursley , Wakeman, Blessing Boxes
· Peyton Carroll, Warren, Dog Obstacle Course
· Madison Coleman, Avon Lake, The Westview Elementary School Pollinator Garden Project
· Alexandra Corrigan, North Ridgeville, Camp Christopher Chapel
· April Dale, Twinsburg, Tinkers Creek Overlook Restoration
· Katherine Danielson, Avon Lake, Bottle Cap Art
· Abigail Donahue, Bay Village, Classroom First Aid Kits
· Octavya Dottore, Novelty, There’s No Business Like Show Business
· Gabrielle Doty, Northfield Center, Updating Liturgical Banner Collection
· Lauren Fricker, Copley, Revamping Girls’ Bathrooms
· Natalie Fullerman, Chardon, Munson Outdoor Reading Hut
· Bailey Gillespie, Avon, Beautification with Bailey
· Abigail Green, Avon Lake, Crosswalk Safety and Awareness
· Kellie Gwlazda, Broadview Heights, Making a Mark
· Elizabeth Holup, Bay Village, Middle School Poetry Slam
· Lilly Jach, Avon Lake, The Last Dance
· Samantha Jarvis, Garrettsville, Beauty Bags
· Kyralin Kramp, Warren, Children’s Sensory Boards and Frames
· Jacqueline Lee, Lakewood, International Pen Pal Club for Lliam Children’s Ministry Orphanage
· Tatiana Lipert, Litchfield, Community Connect
· Katle Lochridge, North Canton, An Ounce of Prevention
· Samantha Lorenc, Rocky River, Little Libraries for Rocky River
· Madeline McDonald, Chardon, The McDonald Family Handrail and Huntington’s Disease Awareness Night
· Katherine McNeil, Uniontown, Loyola Retreat House Fire Reflection Area
· Elizabeth Morisak, Streetsboro, Coloring for Health
· Sydney Ommert, Wakeman, Better Things to do Than Drugs
· Rachel Reese, Copley, Therapy Boxes for Haven of Rest
· Isabelle Reynolds, Willoughby, Kirtland Library Perennial Garden
· Olivia Russo, Brunswick, Sensory Room Structuring
· Kari Schack, Concord, Buckeye Elementary After School Art Program
· Denali Selent, Chardon, Free Little Food Pantry
· Heidi Smith, Clinton, Echoing Ridge Garden
· Ilyana Smith, Kent, Danube Swabian Expulsion Awareness
· Alison Steele, Avon Lake, Bicentennial Bike Route
· Kendall Thomas, Bay Village, Math Backpacks
· Elisse Von Duhn, Broadview Heights, Bees All-Star Track Event
· Megan Ward, McDonald, Indoor Recess
· Julia Zaborszki, Northfield Center, Mirror Me
· Sydney Zimcosky, Chagrin Falls, Walkway to Nature