2021 Gold Award Ceremony - Saturday, June 5, 2021 Camp Addisone Boyce Tomkins Cove, NY - Girl Scouts Heart of the Hudson

Page created by Ralph Caldwell
 
CONTINUE READING
2021 Gold Award Ceremony - Saturday, June 5, 2021 Camp Addisone Boyce Tomkins Cove, NY - Girl Scouts Heart of the Hudson
2021 Gold Award
   Ceremony
     Saturday,
    June 5, 2021
   Camp Addisone
       Boyce
  Tomkins Cove, NY
2021 Gold Award Ceremony - Saturday, June 5, 2021 Camp Addisone Boyce Tomkins Cove, NY - Girl Scouts Heart of the Hudson
2021 Gold Award Ceremony - Saturday, June 5, 2021 Camp Addisone Boyce Tomkins Cove, NY - Girl Scouts Heart of the Hudson
Girl Scouts Heart of the Hudson, Inc.
         Board of Directors

             Officers:
      Fay Casatuta-President
 Carol Vergara-First Vice President
Christina Ho-Second Vice President
      Jolene Borell-Treasurer
     Barbara Londa-Secretary

         Members at Large:
            Kim Barnett
          Michael Bruno
           Nicole Canada
           Cathy Corbin
         Christine Drasba
            Lisa Gariolo
          Molly McGarity
        Michele Pollack-Rich
         Anna May Wiede
           Ariel Yarmus
            Jean Zappia

Marie Reger - Chief Executive Officer
             Ex-Officio
2021 Gold Award Ceremony - Saturday, June 5, 2021 Camp Addisone Boyce Tomkins Cove, NY - Girl Scouts Heart of the Hudson
Our Mission

Girl Scouting builds girls of courage, confidence, and
    character who make the world a better place.

              Girl Scout Promise
On my honor, I will try:
   To serve God and my country,
   To help people at all times,
   And to live by the Girl Scout Law.

                 Girl Scout Law

I will do my best to be
    honest and fair,
    friendly and helpful
    considerate and caring,
    courageous and strong, and
    responsible for what I say and do,
and to
    respect myself and others,
    respect authority,
    use resources widely,
    make the world a better place, and
    be a sister to every Girl Scout!
2021 Gold Award Ceremony - Saturday, June 5, 2021 Camp Addisone Boyce Tomkins Cove, NY - Girl Scouts Heart of the Hudson
Helping Eagles Soar:
     A Brief History of Girl Scouting’s Highest Award
             by Jean Havens, GSHH Museum

The highest girl award in Girl Scouting has changed its name often in the past 109 years. In-
terestingly, the 1913 handbook, How Girls Can Help their Country, listed a British Girl Guide
award, the Silver Fish, as the highest award in Girl Scouting. However, no girl in the United
States ever earned this recognition.

Using the Silver Fish award as a model, Juliette Low developed the first official highest
award for American Girl Scouts, the Golden Eaglet of Merit, in 1916. To earn this award,
known simply as the Golden Eaglet, a girl had to complete fourteen proficiency badges from
a list of seventeen. The award came with a red, white, and blue ribbon. Fewer than 50 Girl
Scouts earned this award before it was redesigned in 1919.

The first five Golden Eaglet awards were presented to girls at the National Girl Scout con-
vention and rally in Washington, DC on May 4, 1919. These awards were red, white, and blue
ribbons that served as substitutes for the medals which were only in the production stage
at that point. Later that year, the actual gold-filled medal were made available nationwide.
The Golden Eaglet medal was designed by sculptor Laura Fardin-Fraser who also designed
the doors for the West Point Library. In 1930, the gold-filled medals were replaced by 10K
gold pins and ultimately, between 1918 and 1939, 10,658 Golden Eaglets were presented to
outstanding Girl Scouts throughout the country.

Proud of the scope of this inaugural award, Juliette Low wrote in 1923: “The five require-
ments for winning the Golden Eaglet are character, health, handicraft, happiness, and ser-
vice, and that other will expect to find in our Golden Eaglets a perfect specimen of girlhood:
mentally, morally, and physically.”

Introduced as an arc-shaped patch embroidered in gold thread, the Curved Bar Award
succeeded the Golden Eaglet as the highest girl award in 1940. It was presented to Interme-
diate Girl Scouts who had attained First Class rank and was worn just above the First Class
emblem. In the fall of 1947, the patch was replaced by a Curved Bar pin. Its design incor-
porated the First Class pin resting on a curved bar, and it was gold-plated and enameled
in red and green. The Curved Bar rank continued until 1963 when the national Girl Scout
program was divided into four age levels: Brownies, Juniors, Cadettes, and Seniors. At that
time, the requirements for achieving First Class were determined to be challenging enough
to equal those for Curved Bar, so First Class became the highest award in Girl Scouting and
remained so from 1963 through 1980.
2021 Gold Award Ceremony - Saturday, June 5, 2021 Camp Addisone Boyce Tomkins Cove, NY - Girl Scouts Heart of the Hudson
From 1963 to 1977, to achieve the First Class recognition a girl had to complete the four
Challenges presented by the Cadette-level program: the Challenge of Social Dependabil-
ity, the Challenge of Emergency Preparedness, the Challenge of Active Citizenship, and
the Challenge of the Girl Scout Promise. She also had to complete a badge in each of the
following areas: arts, home, citizenship, out-of-doors, health and safety, and international
friendship. Additional Challenges were introduced in 1972, offering even more options for
girls striving to attain First Class.

The Girl Scout Gold Award was introduced in 1980 as the highest award for Senior Girl
Scouts. The award’s requirements involved the completion on a combination of interest,
leadership, career exploration, and service projects. It also required girls to demonstrate
ability and skill in: goal setting, planning, putting values into action, and relating to the
community. Although requirements have been changed and modified through the years
since its introduction, the Gold Award remains the highest recognition for Girl Scouts
today.

           Thank You Gold Award Mentors!

  Gold Award Mentors are the incredible volunteers who have been trained by our
  council to assist girls in becoming Gold Award Girl Scouts.

  These mentors put forth a tremendous amount of time and dedication to Gold Award
  Girl Scouts. They attend monthly meetings, approve projects, act as a constant re-
  source, answer questions, lend a hand, and ensure the Gold Award requirements for
  each project are fulfilled to GSUSA and Girl Scouts Heart of the Hudson standards.

  It is their tireless work, long hours, open ears, and gentle guidance that help mold
  Gold Award Girl Scouts into strong, independent leaders who become courageous
  and optimistic world-changers. They show by example what it takes to make the
  world a better place.

  Girl Scouts Heart of the Hudson cannot thank these volunteers enough for their
  commitment, and hope that you will join us in extending your gratitude to all the
  Gold Award Mentors today and always, as we celebrate the 2021 Gold Award Girl
  Scouts.
2021 Gold Award Ceremony - Saturday, June 5, 2021 Camp Addisone Boyce Tomkins Cove, NY - Girl Scouts Heart of the Hudson
Girl Scouts
                   Heart of the Hudson, Inc.
                  2021 Gold Award Girl Scouts
Sara Adler                   For her Gold Award project, Sara addressed how corporations
                             and society views boys baseball leagues as a more substantial
Spackenkill Service Unit
Troop #10123                 investment than girls softball leagues. She raised money and
                             erected two scoreboards to minimize the gap she saw between
Leveling the Playing Field
                             the boys fields and the girls fields.

                             Katie is passionate about playing golf, but noticed there were few
Katherine Asciutto           of her peers interested in playing and even less interest among
Scarsdale/Edgemont           girls and disadvantaged youth. Katie partnered with after-school
Service Unit                 programs in Mount Vernon to offer activities introducing the
Troop #2105                  sport of golf and its benefits to disadvantaged kids and younger
One Swing at a Time          Girl Scouts.

                             For her project, Emily built pollinator-friendly gardens in pub-
Emily Attinger               lic parks and crated workshops for younger Girl Scouts to learn
                             about pollinators. For each garden, Emily constructed a butterfly
West Lakeland Service Unit   house where butterflies can shelter, and a bee hotel where soli-
Troop #2011
                             tary bees can lay their eggs. Emily also weeded and planted na-
Pollinator Power             tive wildflowers and tree saplings. The gardens are a safe haven
                             for pollinators, providing them with areas for rest and rehabilita-
                             tion, so they can continue helping local gardens and farms.

Alyssa Brundage              Alyssa’s project focused on honoring veterans and their legacies.
                             To do this, she gathered teams of volunteers to clean veteran
West Lakeland Service Unit
Troop #2011                  plaques at Assumption Cemetery. Alyssa and her team cleaned all
                             1,000 plaques and she has begun situating other troops to contin-
Veteran Cemetery
                             ue this effort at other cemeteries. She hosted virtual workshops
Beautification Project       sharing the importance of government and mediation.

Nicole Bugliosi              Nicole’s Gold Award project helped senior citizens by teaching
Croton Service Unit          them how to use technology. Once the pandemic hit, she adjusted
Troop #2450                  to a virtual program. Nicole observed the seniors that she was
                             working with were lonely and created a pen-pal system for the
Geeks for Grannies and
                             senior residents to help with the isolation of the pandemic.
Grampies
                             Nicole’s main focus for her Gold Award project was the increased
Nicole Byrnes                stress of the current state of the world. Kids of all ages are kept
North Salem Service Unit     indoors and required to be on Zoom classes all hours throughout
                             the day. Nicole wanted to see kids outside and taking a break from
Troop #1065
                             technology. She created a fishing booth at Rockefeller State Park to
Tackle Anything!             learn proper fishing skills and educate them about wildlife inter-
                             action between fish and the food chain, as well as proper fishing
                             equipment disposal methods.
2021 Gold Award Ceremony - Saturday, June 5, 2021 Camp Addisone Boyce Tomkins Cove, NY - Girl Scouts Heart of the Hudson
2021 Gold Award Girl Scouts
                                For her project, Mary-Kate met with various Girl Scout troops and
Mary-Kate Chanowsky             local community members where she discussed the history of the
Greater Fishkill Service Unit   Ronald McDonald House and assembled in total over 450 Grab-
Troop #10428                    and-Go Bags for the residents of the House. These groups were
Raising Awareness for           also brought down to the Ronald McDonald House located on
Premature Infants at            the grounds of Westchester Medical Center to participate in the
Ronald McDonald House           House’s ‘Meals that Heal’ program. Under Mary-Kate’s leadership,
                                these groups planned, shopped for, and cooked healthy meals for
                                the program. Mary-Kate also held collection drives to stock the
                                pantry at the Ronald McDonald House and to make care bags for
                                the families staying there. Since the Maria Fareri Children’s Hos-
                                pital is a premier hospital for premature babies, Mary-Kate also
                                recruited volunteers to make over 130 crochet octopuses for the
                                premature babies currently at the hospital. The tentacles of these
                                octopuses mimic the feel of an umbilical cord, which draws the
                                baby to hold onto them instead of the tubes they are hooked up
                                to. Due to her efforts and the success of her project, the Ronald
                                McDonald House has seen a significant increase in the numbers
                                of volunteers participating in the Meals That Heal program
                                pre-COVID. Mary-Kate chose to work with the Ronald McDonald
                                House because her brother is a cancer survivor, and she knows
                                firsthand how much a helping hand when a loved one is sick can
                                mean.

Catherine Coffino               For her Girl Scout Gold Award, Cate created For Girls, By Girls to
                                emphasize the importance of talking about the struggles many
Chappaqua Service Unit
                                quietly endure alone. For Girls, By Girls is a program that provides
Troop #2221
                                a safe space for freshman girls to talk about issues that occur in
For Girls, By Girls             their academic, social, and family lives. To provide support and
                                facilitate conversations, Cate brought in a guidance counselor to
                                participate, and recruited upperclassmen to join and share their
                                struggles. The group discusses the importance of addressing
                                inner conflicts and how ignoring them can result in becoming
                                overwhelmed and make people far less effective in their lives.

Olivia Conlin                   For her Gold Award project, Olivia created a patriotic project
Mahopac Service Unit            called “Our Hometown Heroes” for her town that honors vet-
Troop #2655    		               erans. The project involves someone sponsoring a veteran for a
                                banner to be printed and hung throughout the town on utility
Our Hometown Heroes
                                poles. The sponsor must provide a photo and information about
                                the veteran. Please enjoy seeing the banners, and it is bringing
                                her community together by having the street lined with patriotic
                                banners. These beautiful banners are providing the recognition
                                these veterans deserve.

Eva Czukkermann                 For her project, Eva built four benches made out of Philippine
Arlington Service Unit          Mahogany that were placed around the fire pit at her church.
                                These benches encourage church members to use the fire pit.
Troop #10500
                                Throughout her project implementation process, Eva was able
Fire Pit Bench
                                to learn, use, and improve many skills including woodworking,
Construction for                carpentry, financial planning, communication, leadership, and
St. Gregory Orthodox            organization.
Church
2021 Gold Award Girl Scouts
Jacqueline Davis           Jacqueline’s Gold Award project addressed self-esteem and the
Ossining Service Unit      idea of a positive body image. She wanted girls to increase their
                           confidence levels and feel better about themselves. Her main goal
Troop #2045
                           was to help girls build positivity and improve their relationships
Awesome Ends With Me
                           with themselves. Her target audience was girls of junior and ca-
                           dette troops. She believes that if a girl learns to accept herself and
                           others at a younger age, she is more likely to continue doing so as
                           she gets older.

Elizabeth DeFazio          Elizabeth sought to bring her community together during the
Washingtonville            current crisis. She created a remembrance garden for those who
                           died during the COVID-19 pandemic. It was designed to be a place
Service Unit
                           for people to go and reflect and pray. She also organized a virtual
Troop #493			              5K to get people outside to run and walk to promote physical and
Pandemic Remembrance       mental health during quarantine. Participants did their 5Ks in
                           different places during a given time window on the same day in
                           order to honor social distancing. People were encouraged to wear
                           t-shirts showing who they were honoring.
Alina DelVecchio           Alina created and designed a new library for the orchestra pro-
Spackenkill Service Unit   gram at her school, FDR in Hyde Park. The old system was rusty
                           cabinets with horizontal drawers that were outdated and not a
Troop #10123
                           good use of space. To improve organization, she built new cab-
FDR Orchestra
                           inets, created a new organizational system, and created a new
Music Library              labeling system. Unlike the old system, Alina’s system is more
                           manageable. She took the time and effort to alphabetize the
                           books as well.

Diana DiVestea             Diana’s Gold Award project addressed the financial stress on
North Salem Service Unit   families who have sick children with financial support to attend
                           summer camp. She created bags to provide children with items to
Troop #1144
                           make their summer camp experience better.
Summer Sacks
                           Annabelle’s Gold Award project addressed pollution, use of pesti-
Annabelle Donnelly         cides, and lack of flowers for bees to pollinate. Bees are facing an
Scarsdale/Edgemont         extreme population decline due to the use of pesticides and other
                           harmful pollutants. Annabelle addressed the issue by encourag-
Service Unit
                           ing younger troops to educate their parents and family about the
Troop #1945                negative consequences of the use of pesticides. She also planted
Save the Bees              native flowers.
                           Erica interviewed local veterans and designed a book of their
                           stories. The audiotapes of the interviews were accepted to the Li-
Erica Dunne                brary of Congress. To share these audiotapes with a larger audi-
Chappaqua Service Unit     ence and raise money for the Wounded Warrior Project, she cre-
                           ate the website newcastleveterans.org. She used the stories from
Troop #1029
                           the veterans as well as interactive materials she made to create
Stories of the Veterans
                           a kids and vets program to teach elementary students about the
of New Castle              origins of Veteran’s Day and Memorial Day. Hearing that many
                           veterans received no thanks upon arriving home, she created her
                           town’s first Veteran’s Day celebration, which drew over 150 peo-
                           ple and included a veteran panel. In November 2020, in lieu of an
                           in-person celebration, in partnership with the American Legion
                           Department of New York, she created Stand Up for Veterans, an
                           event where New Yorkers sang or played the national anthem at 7
                           PM.
2021 Gold Award Girl Scouts
                             Little Orphan Animals Adoption Center is dedicated to finding cats
Catarina Duraes              of all ages their forever homes. Catarina visited the shelter and
Putnam Valley Service Unit   noticed that the facade was not very welcoming for potential pet
Juliette Girl Scout          parents. She also thought they could benefit substantially from
Beautifying Community        a new versatile adoption day banner. She successfully repaired
Cat Shelter                  and repainted the facade with a more appealing color as well as a
                             custom-made multipurpose banner to hand at adoption events, cat
                             shows, and other venues. Her contributions helped to increase foot
                             traffic and adoption rates at the shelter.

Cara Fagelman                As both a Girl Scout and a JROTC Cadet, Cara has spent time
Stony Point Service Unit     in community service with veterans and has seen how import-
Troop #40470                 ant their Posts are to providing needed emotional support. Cara
You Served, You Earned:      contacted the Leo Laders American Legion Post 130 and met with
A Bocce Ball Court for       members to see what kind of project would enhance their Post
                             and add to the social experience the veterans have there. They
American Legion Post 30
                             asked for a bocce ball court to be added to their picnic area. Cara
                             researched, designed, obtained supplies, and led a team of help-
                             ers in building the bocce ball court. She fund raised for supplies
                             by designing t-shirts that she sold to the community and at Girl
                             Scout citizenship badge workshops which she held for troops
                             ranging from brownies to seniors. At these workshops, she was
                             able to teach the values of citizenship and promote community
                             support for veterans while leading girls in their badge require-
                             ments.

Julia Gaughan                Julia noticed that at the Hudson River Rowing Association (HRRA)
Sylvan Hills Service Unit    boathouse in Poughkeepsie, there were often unwanted visitors
Juliette Girl Scout          who drove up on the concrete walkway late at night and damaged
Protect the HRRA             the property by doing donuts with their cars and using the dock
Boathouse                    without a proper license. Before her project, there was no barrier
                             between the boathouse and the road so people were able to drive
                             onto the private property owned by Vassar College. She placed
                             posts around the perimeter of the boathouse to promote the safety
                             of rowers at the boathouse at all times. Her project also prevents
                             people from vandalizing the boathouse property.

Kaitlyn Gazzara              Kaitlyn created online resources for young female students to
Pearl River Service Unit     further their education in science, technology, engineering, and
Troop #40125                 math (STEM) topics. She created informative resources about the
Homegrown STEM               history of women in STEM as well as compiled research about
                             some of the most influential female leaders in various STEM
                             fields. She created infographics about their achievements in an
                             easy-to-read format. She also created fun ways for the girls to
                             learn about the basics of STEM to incite their interest in the topic.
                             Through her Gold Award project, she encouraged young girls to
                             realize that they can not only become well versed in principles
                             of STEM, but that these seemingly sophisticated topics can be
                             enjoyable as well.
2021 Gold Award Girl Scouts
Cayla Gona                   For Cayla’s Gold Award project, she worked with her local parks
Putnam Valley Service Unit   department to paint a bike pad to help young children learn to
Troop #1372                  ride bikes in a safe environment. She created a sign to help chil-
                             dren learn about safe biking practices. She strives to bring her
Bike Pad
                             community together by creating a space where parents could
                             watch their children learn and have fun riding their bikes.

Kathleen Hall                Kathleen’s Gold Award project addressed the absence in her
Northern Dutchess            community for a place where residents could responsibly recycle
                             special items that should be collected separately. She organized
Service Unit
                             and built a drop off center for specialized recycling of items such
Troop #10479
                             as nutrition packaging, Brita filters, oral care packaging, razors,
Recycling Center for         stationary, and corks. The existence of the recycling center raises
Special Material             awareness in the community of the importance of recycling.

Anna Hallac                  Anna noticed that many amputees are unable to afford prosthet-
Chappaqua Service Unit       ics due to the lack of affordable healthcare. She organized girls to
                             work on building prosthetics by attending problem solving work-
Troop #2221
                             shops and using 3D printers. They produced 15 hand prosthetics
Lending a Hand to Foster     which were distributed globally. This not only helped address the
Interest in STEM             need for prosthetics but also helped inspire girls to be interested
                             in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).

Amy Hu                       Amy noticed that during the pandemic, those suffering from
Scarsdale/Edgemont           homelessness were particularly impacted. Since many shelters
Service Unit                 had to close due to quarantine rules, the showering facilities at
                             those shelter had shut down and the homeless were not able to
Juliette Girl Scout
                             use them. A local food pantry stepped up and would provide the
Shower Service for the       shower service to them, but badly needed the shower supplies to
Homeless                     improve the hygienic condition for the homeless by collecting and
                             providing new shower supplies and a large supply of new under-
                             garments and clothes. She also added food and drinks to compli-
                             ment the shower service. The initial event was very successful,
                             and the team decided to host events regularly.

Juliette Intrieri            Juliette’s project addressed the need for running shoes for youth
North Salem Service Unit     that may not have the means to purchase them. She organized
Troop #2527                  a sneaker recycling program and also educated kids and teens
                             about choosing healthy foods.
Running on Healthy Fuels

Ashley Jakubowicz            Ashley’s Gold Award project addressed the large environmental
Scarsdale/Edgemont           impact of the fashion industry. She addressed the issue through
Service Unit                 educational programming and through projects reusing old juice
                             pouches by turning them into wallets. She led sessions for other
Troop #19410
                             Girl Scout troops, family members, through the Youth Passion
Clothes for the Needy        Project, and at library events. She taught these events for people
                             ranging from kindergartners to senior citizens.
2021 Gold Award Girl Scouts
Stephanie Kasulka          Stephanie created a pollinator pathway at Round Rock Preserve
Chappaqua Service Unit     which helped restore the environment by creating an area for
Troop #1029                wildlife. She planted native plants to support bee populations.
                           She educated others about environmental topics and helping
Pollinator Pathway at
                           bees.
Round Rock Preserve

                           Kamryn started a 10-week virtual baking program at ANDRUS,
Kamryn Keating             a residential home in Yonkers. The girls who she worked with at
Eastchester Service Unit   ANDRUS require emotional and behavioral support, so baking
Troop #1464                was a way for them to take their minds off of stress and enjoy
                           themselves. Each week they met over Zoom to bake a new treat
Baking Program at
                           together, and the girls had a lot of fun. She provided them with
ANDRUS Residential
                           all the ingredients, supplies, and equipment for each recipe by
Center                     fundraising and seeking donations from local businesses. She
                           gave the girls instructional videos for each recipe and their own
                           cookbooks so they could continue to bake in the future.

                           Elsa wanted to help the organization Stray Dogs of Armenia,
                           which saves dogs from the streets of Armenia and helps reha-
                           bilitate them to find them loving homes, with the costs of trans-
                           porting the dogs to their new homes. Elsa worked to connect
Elsa Kevorkian             Stray Dogs of Armenia with people traveling back to the US from
Chappaqua Service Unit     Armenia in hopes that they are willing to bring these dogs to their
Troop #2221                forever homes. She created a website for Stray Dogs of Armenia to
Bring Them Home            allow for social sharing and brand discovery, allowing the organi-
                           zation to access potential advocates, volunteers, and people willing
                           to adopt. She also created a blog, held Zoom webinars to discuss
                           her project and advocate for the organization, and held a donation
                           drive to provide for the animals in her community. At the end of
                           her project, she managed to get 6 dogs adopted, provide over 200
                           necessary goods to animal shelters, educate over 60 people virtu-
                           ally on the socio-economic situation in Armenia and the effect on
                           the dogs, and reach people in over 6 countries through the website
                           she created.

                           Stephanie designed and painted a 20 square foot religious mural
                           on five wood panels and donated it to Our Lady of Lourdes High
Stephanie Lehner           School so that everyone (administration, faculty, staff, visitors to
                           the school, and future generations of Lourdeans) could experi-
Dutchess Tri Valley
                           ence the joy through the religious representation of the Cross. She
Service Unit               named it “The Greatest Love” to depict Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice
Troop #10105               and his undying love for each and every one of us. For the leader-
“The Greatest Love”        ship portion of her project, she held several virtual art classes to
                           teach girls how to construct and design pop-up cards and demon-
                           strated how to make step-by-step drawings. She then hand-deliv-
                           ered these pop-up cards along with several that she made to local
                           hospitals as a thank you to medical professionals for their contin-
                           ued hard work during the coronavirus pandemic.
2021 Gold Award Girl Scouts
                             In the college admissions process, there is an uneven playing field
                             favoring the more affluent and wealthy, particularly with the ex-
                             pensive costs of private tutors and counselors, prep courses, and
Kathy Li                     review books. Kathy’s project tackled this greater systemic issue
                             on a more local scale by providing free college admission and entry
Croton Service Unit
                             exam resources to students at her local high school. She organized
Troop #2450                  a yearly drive to collect second-hand review books with her high
Free Resources for College   school’s library, implemented an “office hours” program for stu-
Admissions Exams and         dents to ask their teachers for help on exam questions, and set
the Admissions Process       up a page on the school’s website for additional study resources.
                             Additionally, she worked alongside her school’s vice principal and
                             head of the local Parent Teacher Association to create a college
                             interview workshop for students to create cover letters and re-
                             sumes, simulate a one-on-one interview, and gain advice from HP
                             professionals. To ensure a greater impact, she also consulted other
                             high school libraries in her county to create and provide similar
                             resources for the college admissions process.

                             For her project, Emily hand-painted over 120 reusable bags and
Emily Lyons                  printed brochures on Dutchess County’s plastic bag ban along
Northern Dutchess            with tips on how to better incorporate reusable items into your
Service Unit                 life. She then handed them out to her community at her local gro-
Troop #10479                 cery store. At the time, her county had decided to pass a plastic
                             bag ban, which would result in more paper bag use. Although pa-
Helping the Planet: One
                             per is better than plastic, it still cuts down millions of trees each
Bag at a Time
                             year. Emily’s goal was to educate her community on switching
                             strictly to reusable bags to help stop future waste. She believes
                             protecting the environment is the most important task of her
                             generation, and that is why she chose to focus her Gold Award on
                             helping her community and the environment.

Anna Marcotte
Northern Dutchess            Ana noticed that the Watts de Peyster monument on North Road
Service Unit                 in Tivoli wasn’t easily accessible or presentable to the public. Her
Troop #10199                 project made the monument more accessible to the residents and
                             visitors of Tivoli. She also cleared up the area and added some
Watts de Peyster
                             landscaping to bring more positive attention to it.
Monument Revitalization
2021 Gold Award Girl Scouts
Grace Maresca               Grace’s Gold Award project’s purpose was to lift and brighten
White Plains Service Unit   the holidays for the people who live in poverty in the programs
Troop #2206                 founded at Lifting Up Westchester. For Thanksgiving and Christ-
Brighter Days               mas, Grace put together over 65 food bags to provide the less
                            fortunate a meal to enjoy and share for the holidays since, for
                            some, the holidays can be the most challenging times of the year.
                            The bags contained holiday sides, a reusable bag, a positive mes-
                            sage, and a $25 food gift card (for meats). The money to buy the
                            supplies came from a Burger King Fundraiser she hosted with
                            the help of friends, family, and fellow Girl Scouts. After preparing
                            and working donation drives to get the supplies, the packaged
                            programs: Open Arms Men’s Shelter, Grace’s Kitchen, Samaritan
                            House Women’s shelter, and many more. Grace inspired these
                            people to know that there are truly brighter days ahead of them,
                            as well as teach both younger and children my age the impor-
                            tance of giving back to the community.

Madison Martabano           Madison partnered with Fostering Hope Together to put together
North Salem Service Unit    20 school backpacks full of school supplies for foster care chil-
Troop #1054                 dren in elementary, middle, and high school. She also made 50
                            comfort cases that consisted of necessities and fun items for chil-
Kits for Kids
                            dren of all age groups from infants to teens that are in or entering
                            the foster care system.

Delia Martin                Delia created a music program at her local YMCA after-school
Somers Service Unit         program in order to introduce piano/music to children who may
                            not experience music lessons in elementary school due to school
Troop #1472
                            budget constraints. The program consisted of weekly semi-pri-
Music Mentors               vate piano lessons for 18 1st and 2nd graders. She recorded a few
                            demonstrations of several instruments (harp, piano, ukulele) for
                            the children to view. Due to COVID, she scheduled a Zoom recital,
                            and gave the children songbooks with her own arrangements of
                            classic beginner songs. She was very proud of her students, who
                            each were able to reach a bit of music and play their songs at the
                            recital. In order to sustain her project, she gave a presentation to
                            her high school Music National Honor Society (MNHS) members
                            who were interested in continuing the project. She also created
                            a program guide for both the MNHS and the local YMCA, who
                            serves several school districts.

Erin McCabe                  Erin’s Gold Award project sought to help veterans in her commu-
Pearl River Service Unit     nity. She made deliveries of essential groceries and supplies to
Troop #40125                 homebound elderly veterans during the hight of the COVID-19
                             pandemic. She also constructed and installed a custom wooden
Support & Remember
                             screen door at the Legion Hall since the old door was in disrepair
Heroes in our Mist           and made access for the veterans more difficult. She organized
                             the construction, painting, assembly, and installation of an
                             American flag monument for the side of the Legion building. The
                             flag monument received great feedback from the veterans.
2021 Gold Award Girl Scouts
                             For her Gold Award project, Hannah helped the stewards of
Hannah McDonough             Overlook Mountain paint over graffiti at the historical ruins of
Kingston Service Unit        the mountain house so that it could still uphold its historical re-
Troop #60033                 mains. She then helped volunteer to be a steward for the day so
Not All Who Wander           that she could help inform others about trail safety and wildlife
Are Lost                     up there. She saw their old overlook sign that showed people
                             where to go was missing, so she painted a new one that was col-
                             orful so no one could miss it to help make sure they stay on the
                             trail. Hannah also made a video about trail safety and what to do
                             if you get lost on the trail.

Maeve McGroary              Maeve researched healthy relationships so she could create a
Katonah/Lewisboro           pamphlet to educate high school students about how to rec-
Service Unit                ognize unhealthy relationships and how to defend themselves
                            against dangerous circumstances. She distributed her pamphlets
Troop #2179
                            throughout her school and hung up posters to advertise for sev-
Self Defense and            eral self-defense classes she instructed as well as recorded and
Healthy Relationship        posted on YouTube.
Guide

                            Grace’s Gold Award project improved the walkway to the Art and
Grace McLeod                Music entrance at Arlington High School. She leveled the ground
Arlington Service Unit      to make sure water can access the drain easily, and she created a
Troop #10062                swall to help the water move along to the drain. Additionally, she
Beautification of Art       took steps to beautify the area to represent the artistic communi-
and Music Entrance          ty of Arlington High School by planting trees, plants, and install-
                            ing lights.

                            Even in the world’s greatest food-producing nation, children and
                            adults face poverty and hunger in every county across Ameri-
                            ca. Mimosa selected this topic because she has seen the effects
Mimosa Medeiros             of hunger within her community. She wanted to help the Hope
New Rochelle Service Unit   Soup Kitchen and the people who depend on it. She also wanted
Troop #2077                 to spread awareness about world hunger and food insecurity in
Rise Against Hunger         the United States. For the first part of her Gold Award, she paint-
                            ed and refurbished the Hope Soup Kitchen. An artist painted a
                            beautiful mural to help liven the dining area and make it feel like
                            home. She had a great team of friends, family, and fellow Girl
                            Scouts that helped make this event possible. For the second part
                            of her Gold Award project, she created a website to teach young
                            Girl Scouts that helped make this event possible. For the third
                            part of her Gold Award, she packed 100 takeaway bags for the
                            Hope Soup Kitchen that included a sandwich, snack, and water
                            bottle. She also decorated the bags and added a sticky note on
                            each sandwich that had a positive message.
2021 Gold Award Girl Scouts
                           The objective of Caroline’s Gold Award project was to plant to
Caroline Michailoff        two pollinator gardens in communal spaces; one in the village of
Pelham Service Unit        Pelham at the Highline and the other at Veterans Park in Pelham
Juliette Girl Scout        Manor. She also created a blog about her experience, planning
Pollinator Native Plant    and conducting research about her Gold Award. She educated
Garden                     younger Girl Scouts about the importance of pollinators, got them
                           involved by planting seeds at home, conducted a butterfly release
                           at one of the gardens, and educated them about how they can
                           help pollinators. She created and published a YouTube video and
                           newspaper articles about a legislative bill created by state sena-
                           tor Alessandra Biaggi after meeting with her to discuss how she
                           could help with the bill. Her bill, S407, relates to the preservation
                           of honeybee colonies.

Nina Milgrim               With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Nina felt the need to help
Kingston Service Unit      her community. Her project was intended to reach throughout
Troop #60033               her community and help distribute sanitary items to those who
                           either needed more or wanted more during this difficult time. It
Bear With Me
                           was intended to spread awareness of the disease at hand and to
                           make sure everyone had supplies to stay safe.

                           Sarah’s Gold Award project dealt with new parents facing not
                           being able to afford all of the necessary supplies when they have
                           a baby. They often don’t have all of the resources that they need,
Sarah Modesitt
                           which can be difficult, especially with a new child. She organized
Eastchester Service Unit
                           groups including the Children and Daughters of the Revolution
Troop #1511                and the local knitting group. Each group that assisted her with
Making Baby Blankets       her project was taught how to make a baby blanket, and she
                           provided them with instructions so they would be able to utilize
                           these skills later on. She donated over 95 blankets to Bundles of
                           Joy. These blankets will be given to parents who need them and
                           will contribute to the materials that Bundles of Joy usually dis-
                           tributes. The project will be sustained by the knitting group at
                           the Bronxville Public Library. The contributed 15 blankets to my
                           project and agreed to take over my project.

Casey Moran                Casey’s Gold Award project helped the animal shelter provide a
Stony Point Service Unit   comfortable environment for the animals and helped animals
Juliette Girl Scout        find homes. Casey made a video for the website and made beds
                           and toys for the cats. Along with the video, she also made a pam-
Lending a Helping Paw
                           phlet about how to create more beds and toys which she gave to
                           the shelter.
2021 Gold Award Girl Scouts
Isabelle Nokland          For her Gold Award project, Isabelle organized a series of fund-
Montgomery/Marion Wilde   raisers to give back her local church to repair the ceiling.
Service Unit
Juliette Girl Scout
New Ceiling Project

Katrina Olsen             Katrina’s project was about bringing awareness to the lack of
Somers Service Unit       wildflowers in the area. Having few wildflowers effects biodi-
Troop #1458               versity and pollinator populations, which in turn effects our
Buzzy Bee Butterfly       food. She made and taught others how to make seed bombs
Garden                    while bringing awareness to these problems.

                          Gabriella taught young girls to use mindfulness and breathing
Gabriella M. Orlando
                          techniques to help control anxiety and stress and build their self
Little Tor/Woodglen       esteem. She wanted to empower young preteen girls to take con-
Service Unit              trol of their feelings and fears. Her project will remain sustainable
Troop #40027              through her project advisor who will continue to use her resourc-
Using Mindfulness to      es at the school where she is a social worker, as well as the Girl
Help with Anxiety &       Scout Troop 40665 who will also run portions of the project for
Stress in Preteen Girls   their troop and the other Girl Scout Troops.

                          For her Gold Award, Gabriela wanted to focus on the issue of bul-
                          lying by promoting behaviors that would help prevent this while
                          also spreading awareness. She worked mostly with younger kids
                          as it is easier to teach them kindness and inclusivity in order to
Gabriela Orlando          promote a way of thinking that would hopefully prevent bullying
Scarsdale/Edgemont        all together. She hosted workshops with activities such as kind-
Service Unit              ness jars, where each girl would write a compliment about every-
Troop #1945               one at their table and put it in their jar. She also wanted to show
Encourage and Inspire     how common bullying is to make them understand how big of a
Kids                      problem it is as well as show them nobody is alone in what they
                          are going though. She did this in various ways such as having
                          conversations with the girls about their experiences and host-
                          ing a movie night in which they watched an anti-bullying film.
                          To widen her impact to older kids, she made a lesson plan about
                          bullying for a peer group at her school. Finally, all the money she
                          fund raised throughout her project was used to purchase vinyl
                          posters that she put up in the bathrooms at Springhurst Elemen-
                          tary in order to promote kindness and positivity.

Rose Phillips             For her Gold Award, Rose built a Resource Room in her town’s
Minisink Service Unit     new Youth Center. This provides an area that benefits every-
Troop #105                one and provides needed programs to her community. She has
                          recruited volunteers for free tutoring nights, activity/craft days,
Mount Hope Resource
                          and informational events. She held fundraising events and met
Room: Growing Our         with local businesses and organizations to help provide the
Community                 donations needed for the room. She included a sensory corner
                          that has sensory objects (wall play panel, books, games, etc.) for
                          children of all ages and all spectrums of Autism.
2021 Gold Award Girl Scouts
Hayden Plattus            For her Gold Award, Hayden taught girls how to sew by hand and
Scarsdale/Edgemont        sewing machine while providing patients in the children’s ward
Service Unit              with small blankets that they can cuddle up with then they have
                          to leave all their possessions at home. During a time of anxiety, it
Troop #1945
                          is important for children to have a piece of security to calm them
Stitching Up Loose Ends   down and make them feel more comforted and relaxed.

Rebecca Pomerantz         The goal of Rebecca’s project was to help bring awareness to
Monroe-Woodbury           people that are interested in getting a dog and the importance of
Service Unit              adoring a dog from shelters.
Troop #108
#RescuedandLoved

                          Jacqueline’s Gold Award project centered around building aware-
Jacqueline Praino
                          ness for current environmental issues. It not only educated
Greenburgh/Elmsford
                          younger Girl Scouts about deforestation and plastic in the oceans
Service Unit              through hands-on programming, but also shared the information
Troop #2206               with younger students through a series of education videos. Go
How to be Environmen-     green and remember to always do your part in making the world
tally Friendly            a better place!

                          Shannon’s Gold Award project raised awareness that testing
Shannon Purcell           beauty products on animals is bad. She wanted to educate con-
Larchmont/Mamaroneck      sumers about the many beauty products on the market that don’t
Service Unit              harm animals. With so many beauty products on the market that
Troop #2975               don’t test on animals, there is really no reason to use those that
Beauty Shouldn’t Hurt     do. It saves animals’ lives and people look great using non-animal
                          tested beauty products.

                          Rachel addressed the fact that the before and after school pro-
                          gram Kids Experience of Mt. Pleasant was in need of a usable
Rachel Raguso             space for children where they could have access to books of all
Mount Pleasant            kinds. With the installation of the reading nook, children of all
Service Unit              ages will experience a comfortable environment where they can
Troop #2978               read, draw, and write with their peers. She began to research and
Reading Nook              realized how many other organizations could benefit from her
                          project, outside of her community, even in other countries. This
                          made her expand her goal which made her meet so many new
                          like-minded people who work towards children’s literacy world-
                          wide.

                          Lauren’s Gold Award project addresses the issue of declining bee
Lauren Rappa              populations. This issue is amplified due to loss of habitat and
Chappaqua Service Unit    other things like pesticides. She created a home and a space for
Troop #2221               bees to live at a local park. The project increased community
The Pollinator Project    awareness about the issues related to population decline and cre-
                          ated a visible spot for continued education.
2021 Gold Award Girl Scouts
                             Hannah’s project focused on providing emotional help to area
                             high school students. She created bookmarks that included infor-
Hannah Recine                mation on Support Connection (a not-for-profit organization that
Somers Service Unit          provides emotions, social, and educational support to women,
Troop #1451                  their families, and friends affected by breast and ovarian cancer).
Raising Awareness for        She delivered these bookmarks to high school counselors who
Students in Need of          put them on their desks for students to take. She then created a
Cancer Support               presentation about coping with stress and available resources for
                             teens. She presented this on Zoom to multiple area high school-
                             ers.

                             Olivia’s Gold Award project addressed several environmental and
Olivia Reduto                recycling issues. She spread information about reducing the use
Scarsdale/Edgemont           of single-use plastic bags and complying with the new law in
Service Unit                 New York State. She also taught others how to recycle old t-shirts
Troop #2105                  by making them into bags. She encouraged people to fill the bags
Building Better Bags:        with gently used books and then donate them, which promotes
Plastic in the Past          literacy while also providing free reusable bags to community
                             members in low income areas. She also taught sewing and craft
                             skills to children.

                             Shannon’s Gold Award project focused on supporting the health
Shannon Rogers
                             of Irish Dancers. She created a series of educational programs for
White Plains Service Unit
                             dancers to attend to help with preventing injuries.
Troop #2160
Helping Irish Dancers
Avoid Injuries

Sophie Ruhl                  Sophie’s Gold Award project created beautification gardens for
Pleasantville Service Unit   her local parish because they had a lack of funding. She had a
Troop #1162                  passion for the environment and she created a more inviting ap-
                             pearance to encourage more attendance.
Beautification Project

Chloe Saldanha               For her Gold Award, Chloe coded a skill for the Amazon Alexa
Monroe-Woodbury              using node.js to teach people about Girl Scouts and for Girl Scouts
Service Unit                 to use as a resource.
Troop #640
Alexa Girl Scout Skill
2021 Gold Award Girl Scouts
                            Chia addressed stress and mindfulness within schools. Her
Chia Salisbury              project specifically targeted high school students. She was able
Yorktown Heights            to teach ways to handle stress as well as ways to handle stress as
Service Unit                well as ways to fix what it is that’s stressing them out in the first
                            place. She conducted scientific research on what major stressors
Troop #2864
                            are present within high schools and then created mental health
Mindfulness Education,
                            resources which aid in addressing said issues. By creating and
Mental Health, and Mak-     sharing an online mental health resource, she not only created a
ing a Difference            new resource, but also aided in spreading awareness for currently
                            existing mental health resources.

Kara Silverman              During this pandemic, Kara realized that the stress of quarantin-
West Nyack Service Unit     ing and the coronavirus in general compromised a lot of people’s
Troop #40167                health and nutrition. As a result, she took action in her communi-
                            ty and led Zoom meetings, created her own recipe book, YouTube
A Nutricious & Delicious
                            channel, website, and more to benefit the public. She took great
Guide to Healthy Eating     pride in having the opportunity to educate and give back to her
                            community during these uncertain times to make sure proper
                            nutrition and healthy lifestyles continued to be a priority.

                            For her Girl Scout Gold Award, Jaya implemented literacy curric-
                            ulum for Rashmi School in Katmandu, Nepal. She also created
                            a self-sustaining pen pal program between Wooster School and
Jaya Singhal                Rashmi by integrating letter writing into the freshman human-
North Salem Service Unit    ities curriculum. In Nepal, to gain the students’ trust and atten-
Troop #2527                 tion before working on annotation and writing strategies, Jaya
Friends with Pens           had students make their own clay pends. She also had a ceremo-
                            ny to represent the communities coming together and collected
                            recipes from the students there to share with her school. She
                            used colored chalk outside and created different literacy stations
                            at Rashmi School to create a fun, interactive lesson. When she
                            came home, she presented to her middle and upper school about
                            the trip and her project to kick off the pen pal program.

Vanessa Spano               Every mother deserves to be recognized on Mother’s Day. That
White Plains Service Unit   is why Vanessa cooperated with My Sister’s Place and made
Troop #2206                 gift bags for the mothers seeking help from the shelter. All kids
                            should be able to give a gift to their mom on their special day. In-
A Gift for Mom
                            cluded in the gift bag was a card they could decorate to give their
                            mother along with other goodies.
2021 Gold Award Girl Scouts
                            Veronica taught the 5th graders of PS 106 about the importance
                            of communication, working together, and being confident when it
Veronica Spano              comes to working with power tools. She also wanted to teach the
White Plains Service Unit   5th graders how participating in stage crew can open the door to
Troop #2206                 valuable lessons such as learning how to use tools such as drills
Scenery for Cinderella      and hammers and how to work with wood all while stressing the
Production                  importance of being aware of their surroundings and watching
                            out for the safety of other including oneself. She was able to help
                            the 5th graders work on the backdrop as well as teaching them
                            how to maneuver the boards.

                            Sarah Jane assembled a group of volunteers to work together to
                            plant a multi-purpose pollinator garden in the Scarsdale Wein-
Sarah Jane Traumer          berg Nature Center. This pollinator garden provides a habit for
Scarsdale/Edgemont          pollinators and serves as a medium to educate visitors of the
Service Unit                nature center about the importance, endangerment, and ways
Juliette Girl Scout         to help pollinators. This pollinator garden, being the first in the
                            Weinberg Nature Center, features a diverse selection of plants to
Weinberg Nature
                            ensure it will successfully attract and nourish generations of var-
Center Pollinator           ious pollinator species throughout their life cycles. The survival of
Garden                      pollinators is dependent upon the reinstatement of the habitats
                            that they have lost due to aggressive industrial and agricultural
                            motivations. This pollinator garden provides these threatened
                            pollinators with the shelter, a source of food, and a source of wa-
                            ter that they have been deprived of or have gravely struggled to
                            find without their habitats.

                            For her Girl Scout Gold Award project, Eileen started an annual
Eileen Trotta               supply drive that collected tools and other materials that were
Chappaqua Service Unit      donated to Habitat for Humanity in Newburgh, NY. Habitat for
Troop #1029                 Humanity International is a nonprofit organization that brings
Habitat for Humanity        families, volunteers, and resources together to build simple, de-
Tool Drive                  cent, and affordable housing. The annual donation to this orga-
                            nization helped to complete the constructions and renovation of
                            these houses more efficiently.

                            For her Gold Award project, Jillian created a mindfulness room in
Jillian Walpole             her high school to promote the mental wellbeing of the students.
Mount Pleasant              She created this room by running a spa day for over 100 local Girl
Service Unit                Scouts to raise funds. During the spa day, Jillian taught these girls
Troop #2978                 the basics of meditation and self care. Over the following months,
Mindfulness Room            she collected furniture and self-help items to create a peaceful
                            space where her classmates could go it they needed to take a
                            mental break or just take a moment or two to themselves in the
                            chaos of high school.
2021 Gold Award Girl Scouts
                          Deborah took pictures of and read every headstone in the old
                          Canterbury Presbyterian Church Cemetery. If the headstone was
Deborah Watson            difficult to read, she did a grave rubbing of it. Then she created
Washingtonville           a book of records for the cemetery including a map of the ceme-
Service Unit              tery, pictures of every headstone, the inscriptions of each head-
Troop #488                stone, and any additional information she could find about the
Cataloging the Cemetery   individuals buried in the cemetery. She gave one book of records
                          to the local library, one to the owner of the Dance and Music De-
                          sign School (the property the cemetery is on belongs to the Dance
                          and Music Design School), and she placed one record book in the
                          cemetery in a weather-proof container she built. She also posted
                          all of her research on findagrave.com where anyone can access it.

                          Aracely’s Gold Award project addressed the lack of personal care
Aracely Watson            and hygiene products in food pantries as well as the overall lack
Misty Mountain            of awareness that these items are needed by food pantries. She
Service Unit              ran two hygiene product drives collecting over 150 lbs. of prod-
Troop #60288              ucts as well as made permanent collection boxes that were in-
                          stalled in several locations. She increased awareness about this
Helping with Hygiene
                          issue by presenting to various groups within religious education
                          programs. She also created posters that were displayed on the
                          permanent collect boxed along with a handout that people could
                          take with them.

Isabelle Woods            Isabelle built and installed stretching equipment along the Her-
Monroe-Woodbury           itage Trail in Orange County that would benefit her community
Service Unit              and draw more community members to the trail. She collaborated
                          with the Orange County Parks Department (OCPD) and the local
Troop #630
                          YMCA to increasing the well-being of her community through
Stretch the Trail         physical fitness.

Gillian Zitrin            Gillian’s project aimed to help give children the tools to gain confi-
Scarsdale/Edgemont        dence and remove stress from their lives. She held workshops
Service Unit              and ran activities such as yoga classes and art project such as a
                          personal stress box where she would help the girls learn how to
Troop #2666
                          respond to stress. While we cannot always change the stressful
The Art Project           events in our life, we can change the way we respond to them,
                          and Gillian continues to talk about the importance of this.
Congratulations
Maeve on your Gold
     Award.

We are so very proud
      of you!

 All our love, Mom,
Dad, Aidan, Clodagh,
    Ciara & Oreo

                        Congratulations
                        Cara on earning
                       your Gold Award!

                       Your family, troop
                       40470 and Stony
                       Point Service Unit
                       are proud of you!
Congratulations on
  earning your Gold          Congratulations
   Award, Isabelle!          Diana DiVestea

                             We are so very
                            proud of all you
                           have accomplished
                             to achieve your
                               Gold Award!

Emily Lyons Troop 10479
Congratulations on your
      Gold Award
We are so proud of you!!
Mom Dad Bailey & Kevin

                            Stephanie Kasulka
                           We are so proud of you
                           and all that you have
                              accomplished.
                            We love you more,
                               Mom Dad and
                                  Michelle
Congratulations!

 We’re so proud of you and
can’t wait to see what you’ll
      accomplish next!

  Girl Scouts Heart of the
        Hudson, Inc.
2 Great Oak Lane Pleasantville, NY 10570

1-855-232-GSHH (4744) | customercare@girlscoutshh.org
You can also read