28 September 2008
Sunday’s Golden Girls: 9/28/2008
Posted by admin under: recognition .
California
This year, 10 girls in the Modesto area earned the Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest award that can be reached in Girl Scouting. Their projects made significant, lasting impacts on their communities.
Leann Indelicato: Leann promoted literacy among children in her community. She helped host Family Reading Nights where parents and children could interact and read together. She also created visual boards that were displayed at elementary schools to attract the attention of children and help them gain an interest in reading.
Melody Leonardo: Melody chose to create awareness in her community about the Girl Scout Gold Award. To do this, she wrote articles for her school paper and The Bee about how the award is earned. She also used the Internet to spread awareness by creating a MySpace page for her troop so that others can view it and learn what she and her fellow troop members have done to earn their Girl Scout Gold Awards.
Alexandra Dressler: Alexandra found that a new school in her community was in need of extracurricular activities. She co-hosted a talent show at Crossroads Elementary to give students a venue to showcase their abilities.
Megha Mahida: Megha’s project addressed the need for cultural awareness. She co-hosted World-Palooza, an event that showcased different styles of food, dance, activities and clothing from around the world.
Mohini Mistry: Mohini co-created World Palooza, an event to promote cultural awareness. She invited organizations to set up booths to educate the public about the different cultures they represent.
Allison Fiskum: Allison addressed the lack of interest in reading in her community. She co-hosted family reading nights at businesses; she worked with schools’ PTAs to get involvement from parents and students. She also made boards displaying the joy of reading and distributed them throughout the schools.
Nicole Sassenberg: Nicole helped educate people about traffic safety and using roundabouts. She created and distributed brochures that contained “rules of the road” and information on using roundabouts. She also created a DVD that provided guidelines for driving through roundabouts, which she shared with parents at her high school’s open house. Her DVDs and brochures also were given to driving schools in her area.
Andrea Thomas: Andrea created a tutoring program to help children with math. She helped 20 fourth-and fifth-grade students understand the math they were learning in their classrooms. She led the tutoring program for six weeks. At the conclusion of the program, her students had a better understanding and appreciation for math.
Anne Bartlett: Anne’s project was to promote a higher level of learning and communication among elementary school students through reading. She created a campaign using boards that highlighted book characters and slogans to promote reading. Anne also held themed literacy nights where the families of students were invited to participate in crafts, games and reading.
Elizabeth Bido: Elizabeth helped a new school in her neighborhood, Crossroads Elementary, raise money to fund its Accelerated Reader program. She co-hosted the first talent show for the school.
Link to source
Milpitas Girl Scout Khanh Truong raised $1,000 for HSSV by holding a pet fair and concert at Milpitas’ Barbara Lee Senior Center in August. Truong, a 2008 graduate of Independence High School in San Jose and current freshman at University of California at San Diego, used the proceeds to purchase 17 beds for the shelter to provide comfortable sleep areas for its dogs. Truong wanted to create an event where Boy and Girl Scouts could earn badges and promote animal adoption. She created stations designed to teach scouts about various animals; the importance of safety around animals; and what animals need to feel safe, happy and healthy. She also developed pet care workbooks with questions that pertained to each station’s topic. The event also featured music, food, balloon animals, and arts and crafts. Truong received a gold award from the Girl Scouts for her efforts, one of the highest awards given out by the organization.
Link to source
Indiana
Sterling Tipton, 19, [r]eceived the Girl Scout Gold Award. “My grandpa was in the Franklin Masonic Home before he passed away. I play the viola. I would practice in front of him. All the people on his floor would come in and listen. That gave me the inspiration to do formal performances. I got a group of volunteers from my high school concert orchestra. We did half-hour concerts at the Masonic Home. We were a quartet, two violins, a viola and a cello. I joined the women’s chorus, because I sing too. I got a group together in Muncie and did half-hour performances at nursing homes with our singing group.”
Link to source
New Jersey
Once a patient at Goryeb Children’s Hospital, Kaleigh A. Levoyer recognized the limited entertain ment that children have in the facility and decided to share her passion for Manga, or Japanese animé, with the patients in Morristown. The Parsippany Girl Scout earned the Gold Award after completing a service project where she collected and donated more than 50 Manga books, or Japanese comics, to the Goryeb Children’s Hospital in Morristown.
Link to source
Texas
Alynda Boonyachai, 18, encouraged middle school students to foster an appreciation and awareness of art studies by leading her volunteers to host a community art show displaying the students’ pieces of art. She is a member of Troop 285, a freshman at Syracuse University and the daughter of Anute and Kavin Boonyachai of Dallas.
Farah Jooma, 19, produced informative brochures outlining alternatives to affordable health care for uninsured families in her community and distributed her publication at the Apex Clinic of Texas in Carrollton and during an informational seminar to families at her local mosque. She is a member of Troop 2143, a sophomore at Emory University and the daughter of Noorallah and Khairunissa Jooma of Lewisville.
Natasha Kerr, 18, led volunteers to build shelving cabinets for a mother’s day out program at a church. She is a member of Troop 7, a freshman at Richland College and the daughter of Cindy and George Kerr of Richardson.
Link to source
Alexandra Patterson, 17, taught younger Girl Scouts how to make knotted fleece blankets to be donated to the Genesis Women’s Shelter. She is a member of Troop 137, a senior at Berkner High School and the daughter of Jeanne and Robin Patterson of Garland.
Christina Eckart, 18, helped to restore the Lady of Lourdes Grotto at St. Peter’s Parish and arranged for volunteers to continually maintain the grotto. She is a member of Troop 1252, a freshman at Texas A&M University and the daughter of Gerri and Jerry Eckart of Lindsay, Texas.
Leslie Galbraith, 19, helped to produce baby quilts for pregnant teenage mothers at the Duncanville Crisis Pregnancy Center. She is a member of Troop 2612, a sophomore at the University of North Texas and the daughter of Camille and Stan Galbraith of Duncanville.
Amber Meeks, 18, and her group partner worked together to teach volunteers how to crochet baby blankets to donate to the Wylie United Methodist Church. She is a member of Troop 1929, a freshman at Sam Houston State University and the daughter of Candace Wachowiak of Wylie.
Link to source
Kayla Powers, 16, and her volunteers organized an “Art for the Heart” day camp for more than 20 children staying with their families in homeless shelters across Dallas. She is a member of Troop 2298, a sophomore at Ursuline Academy of Dallas and the daughter of Marilyn and Kevin Powers of Dallas.
Hillary Roberts, 19, renovated an apartment for a needy family of four who belonged to the Interfaith Housing Coalition by relying on donations of furniture and appliances and through funds raised at a benefit garage sale. She is a member of Troop 271, a freshman at the University of Mississippi and the daughter of Marsha and James Roberts.
Amy Sagneri, 18, provided docent training to each of her volunteers so they could educate the public about nature and the environment at the Holifield Science Learning Center, facilitate activities throughout the day and greet guests. Amy created maps and brochures for elementary students and their teachers touring the learning center. She is a member of Troop 789, a freshman at Colorado State University and the daughter of Carol and Larry Sagneri of Plano.
Kelsey Temple, 18, educated hundreds of elementary students about the importance of bicycle safety and maintenance through speaking engagements at various elementary schools and at the Coppell YMCA. She is a member of Troop 2391, a freshman at Oklahoma State University and the daughter of Nancy and David Temple of Coppell.
Link to source
The Girl Scouts of North-east Texas honored Julia Arnold, daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Thomas J.B. Arnold, of Flint, who began her Girl Scout leadership experience at 11 years old. She is currently a Girl Scout Ambassador and received the highest award in Girl Scouting — the Girl Scout Gold Award for sustaining a children’s backpack program at the East Texas Food Bank.
Link to source
Virginia
Victoria L. Cooper earned the Girl Scouts’ top honor, the Gold Award, by organizing and conducting a recent project that benefited cancer patients.
Link to source
Updated thanks to LauraB:
Iowa
Amy Beall, 18, of Troop 315 in Logan, Iowa (Girl Scouts of Greater Iowa) will be honored at a Gold Award ceremony on October 4, 2008 at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Missouri Valley, Iowa. For her project she designed, planned, planted, and upkept the landscaping of the church using funds that had been donated for the purpose but had never been put to use.
Source: LauraB and her comment on this post. 
- Sunday’s Golden Girls – 10/12/2008
- Sunday’s Golden Girls (delayed) – 10/5/2008
- Sunday’s Golden Girls – 01/13/2009 (thought I forgot, didn’t you?)
- Sunday’s Golden Girls – 12/14/2008 (delayed)
- Sunday’s Golden Girls – 11/01/2008 (Mucho Delayo)
One Comment so far...
LauraB Says:
29 September 2008 at 3:34 pm.
I would like to add:
Iowa:
Amy Beall, 18, of Troop 315 in Logan, Iowa (Girl Scouts of Greater Iowa) will be honored at a Gold Award ceremony on October 4, 2008 at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Missouri Valley, Iowa. For her project she designed, planned, planted, and upkept the landscaping of the church using funds that had been donated for the purpose but had never been put to use.
