Class of 2019
Gold Award Girl Scout Celebration May 11
Gold to Great
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that serving the community makes a lasting impact. PNC supports those who serve the common good of their community. That’s why we’re proud to congratulate today’s Girl Scout Gold Award recipients honorees on this amazing achievement.
To learn more about PNC’s capabilities, visit a PNC branch or pnc.com.
2©2016 2017 The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. All rights reserved. PNC Bank, National Association. Member FDIC
Message from Dear Gold Award Girl Scout,
Lyndsey Mackie
Courage. Confidence. Character. Three words proudly exemplified by each of you and deeply ingrained in Girl Scout history. To work with you during this pursuit is to know the amount of time, thought, and effort invested in a Gold Award project. You looked with care and compassion at your community and did not shy away from the challenges you saw there. Your projects bravely and boldly addressed issues such as poverty, human rights, preserving the environment, and honoring history. The leadership you have demonstrated within your communities is a continuous reminder that Girl Scouts truly make the world a better place. Your vision, your dedication, and your perseverance are the reasons we are here today. From the moment you submitted your proposal, you broke ground on a life changing project that serves as the pinnacle of your Girl Scout journey. It has been my honor to support you from that first step to today’s celebration. The Gold Award Guidelines ask for leadership, education, sustainability, and a connection to a national or global issue. Take deep pride knowing you’ve not only reached, but in so many ways, exceeded each of those benchmarks. There is no doubt you have truly earned the pin you receive today. We are so proud of you, Gold Award Girl Scout. You inspire us to strive to be better, to never cease to pursue our passions, and to let nothing stand in our way toward greatness. As you depart here and seek to change the world, know that you always will have the support and admiration of each of us at Girl Scouts in the Heart of Pennsylvania. Yours in Girl Scouting,
Lyndsey Mackie Gold Award Liaison 3
A special Thank You to our Gold Award Celebration sponsors
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2019 Gold Award Celebration
Program of Events Welcome
Saturday, May 11, 2019 Hershey Lodge, Hershey, PA
Valerie Pritchett, Mistress of Ceremonies News Anchor, WHTM abc27
Flag Ceremony and Opening Remarks
Troop 11006, Harrisburg (Kaitlyn Alleman, Ryleigh Alleman, Johnicia Badgett, Nalaya Graham, Lena Mahaffey, Naomi Mulgrew, Grace Smith)
Suzanne Moore, Interim CEO, Girl Scouts in the Heart of PA
Celebrating Gold Award Girl Scouts, sponsored by PNC Remarks
Presentation of 2019 Gold Award Girl Scouts Valerie Pritchett, Mistress of Ceremonies Suzanne Moore, Interim CEO Jeshanah McLeod, Board Member
Closing Remarks and Flag Ceremony Suzanne Moore, Interim CEO
Group Photo, 2019 Gold Award Girl Scouts
The GSHPA photo station/backdrop will be available for Gold Award Girl Scouts and their guests, after the event.
Girl Scout Lifetime Membership
BE A CHAMPION. FOR GIRLS. TODAY.
“Truly, ours is a circle of friendships, united by our ideals” Juliette Gordon Low
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Mistress of Ceremonies
Valerie Pritchett
Valerie Pritchett co-anchors abc27 News at Five and abc27 News at 7. In addition to her anchoring duties, Valerie also reports. A project close to her heart is “Val’s Kids,” which features children in foster care who, through the Statewide Adoption and Permanency Network, are looking for adoptive homes. You can watch Val’s Kids on abc27 News at 7 on Wednesdays and on abc27 News at 6 on Sundays. Valerie is also a former Girl Scout. One of her fondest memories is selling cookies through the Girl Scout Cookie Program. It beefed up her public speaking and sales skills. Valerie helped her station win a Service to Community Award from the National Association of Broadcasters, one of the highest honors a broadcast television station can earn, for Operation Safe Kids. She produced and reported in Harrisburg neighborhoods through the month of October 2010 to promote fire safety and the installation of smoke alarms after a fatal fire in the city. A dedicated community volunteer, Valerie is the honorary chair for the American Cancer Society’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk. Valerie also assists Susquehanna Service Dogs with dog raising and sitting. Valerie assists many other nonprofit organizations. She is also a member of the United Way of the Capital Region’s Women’s Leadership Network. Valerie serves on the Salvation Army Advisory and Ned Smith Center for Nature and Art, as well as Catholic Charities boards.
Salutes
Girl Scouts in the Heart of Pennsylvania for their commitment to building girls of courage, confidence and character John R. Greed Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer 320 Park Avenue New York NY 10022-6839 1-800-468-3785 • mutualofamerica.com
Leadership in the
Heart of Pennsylvania Board Officers Kathryn W. McCorkle, Chair
Melinda Ghilardi, Esq., Secretary
Deborah A. Kolsovsky, Vice Chair
Adrienne M. Vicari, Treasurer
Members at Large Lynn M. Bachstein
Betsy Keefer
Karen D. Best
Jeshanah McLeod
Amy Brayford
Nancy J. Tulli
Karen K. Deklinski
Deborah D. Vereen
Stacey O. Irwin, Ph.D.
Darren Russ
ith us!
Connect w
GSHPA
@GSHPA
@GSHeartPA
Girl Scouts in the Heart of Pennsylvania • 350 Hale Avenue. Harrisburg, PA 17104 www.gshpa.org • 800.692.7816 • MemberServices@gshpa.org
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Congratulations Gold Award Girl Scouts!
Girl Scouting teaches life lessons, makes lifetime memories
www.PHFA.org | 1-855-U-Are-Home (827-3466) Tom Wolf, Governor | Brian A. Hudson, Sr., Executive Director & CEO
Hershey Entertainment & Resorts Company IS A PROUD SUPPORTER OF
THE GIRL SCOUTS IN THE HEART OF PA
© 2019 Hershey Entertainment & Resorts Company. All words, designs, and phrases appearing in bold, italics, and/or with the symbol ®, SM, or TM are trademarks owned or used by Hershey Entertainment & Resorts Company under license or with permission. All rights reserved. 19GW32200
About the
Girl Scout Gold Award Earning the Gold Award is a Girl Scout’s highest honor. This prestigious award is earned by a select group of Girl Scouts who demonstrate a higher commitment to improving their communities and advocating for lasting change. Since April of 2018, 81 Girl Scouts from our 30-county footprint in Central and Northeastern Pennsylvania earned the Gold Award. The road to the Gold Award begins with discovery. Each girl uses her own values and skills to identify a community issue she is passionate about and then determines the topic and audience for her project. Before proceeding, each girl submits a project proposal to the Gold Award Committee. Mentors work with each Girl Scout to support the development of her project, alongside each girl’s Gold Award Advisor. While working on her project, each Girl Scout dedicates herself to advancing her cause and accomplishing her goal. All of the projects completed this year will have a lasting and positive impact on our region and beyond. The Gold Award Girl Scouts for 2019 have exhibited outstanding leadership, exceptional organizational skills and a sincere commitment to investing in their communities. Congratulations to all of our Gold Award Girl Scouts!
The Girl Scout Law
The 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.
*When making the GIrl Scout Promise, individual members may substitute wording appropriate to their own spiritual beliefs for the word “God”.
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 wisely, make the world a better place, and be a sister to every Girl Scout.
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Class of 2019
Gold Award Girl Scouts Karlea Allen
Berwick, PA Healthy Relationships • Take a Stand, Lend a Hand Karlea worked closely with Salem Elementary School in Berwick, PA, to present information to students in grades 3-4 about the preliminary measures, precautionary signs, and effects of bullying. Karlea met with members of the student council to discuss the continuation of the project.
Lydia Althouse Stevens, PA Animals • Tying It All Together Lydia taught members of the Masonic Village retirement home how to make dog toys out of unwanted t-shirts. She took the toys to local dog shelters and rescues; and helped the members of the retirement home give their dog toys away to the visiting therapy dogs.
Katie Anderson
East Stroudsburg, PA Healthy Relationships • Loving Me, Myself, and I Katie organized an event exclusively for girls to encourage self-confidence and body positivity. She organized several workshops and activities for the event designed specifically to help rid girls of society’s body-image standards.
Savannah Appleby
Shade Gap, PA Environment & Sustainability • Butterfly Garden Savannah transformed an area of Cowans Gap State Park into a butterfly garden. She selected the location, and, with help from local Girl Scout troops, she cleaned and weeded the area, researched flowers beneficial for butterflies, planted the flowers, tagged all flowers by name, added new mulch, and added a walkway around the garden.
Revati Athavale
Mechanicsburg, PA Education • CVHS Memory Team To help the students of Cumberland Valley High School unlock their full potential, Revati started a “Memory Team” open to all students to join. Members of the Memory Team work through educational activities to help improve memory, and participate in local competitions.
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The following pages feature the 2019 Gold Award Girl Scouts and descriptions of their projects. By necessity, the descriptions are brief and may not fully describe the scope of each girl’s work.
Elisabeth Azarewicz
Shavertown, PA Environment & Sustainability • Recycling Awareness Elisabeth hosted educational awareness days for her community about the importance of recycling, with an ultimate goal of bettering our environment. She spread the word by making flyers and distributing them to the public.
Rosa Azzato Harrisburg, PA Arts, Culture & Heritage • Expressions Art Camp Rosa organized an art-themed day camp for young children with special needs to help them develop a sense of self-expression and problem-solving skills. The camp included activities for the children to spend time painting, making special crafts, creating music and playing games.
Tamara Bartholomew
Scranton, PA Life Skills • Child Safety 101 Tamara educated children about first-aid. Specifically, she taught children how to help when those around them face minor injuries, like a small cut, to severe injuries with significant blood loss. She also conducted activities to show children how to stay safe while playing outdoors.
Renee Bonner
Wrightsville, PA Environment & Sustainability • William Kain Boat Ramp Flower Garden Renee redesigned two flower beds by the William Kain Boat Ramp on Lake Redman in York County. Renee weeded, planted new flowers, added a layer of mulch, and returned weekly to care for the garden. She chose plants that were hardy, deer and bug resistant, and would bloom in different seasons.
Mary Booth
McConnellsburg, PA Education • Free Library at Keller’s To make reading materials more accessible to her community and help improve residents’ basic literacy skills, Mary established a free library in Keller’s Country Store in Hutstontown, PA. She recruited volunteers to help her build the library structure, and collected book donations to fill the library.
Margaret Boyle Wrightsville, PA Health • Children’s Activity Space Margaret collaborated with the Mission of Mercy in Pennsylvania, a non-profit organization that provides free dental care to those in need, to create a fun children’s waiting area designed to help rid anxiety while waiting to get their teeth cleaned. The children’s waiting area includes an educational video, toys, books and pamphlets.
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Ally Byrne
Chambersburg, PA Healthy Relationships • Teen Depression and Suicide Ally connected with her school district, community agencies and a teen center to raise awareness about depression and suicide in her community. Ultimately, she worked to ensure that teenagers would feel supported in their battle against depression and suicide, and not be afraid to seek help.
Samantha Cooper
Harrisburg, PA Arts, Culture & Heritage • Sami’s Smile Station Samantha created a station for the residents of the Jewish Home of Greater Harrisburg to print out photos and place in their rooms. She set up a station with a photo printer, iPod touch, instruction manual, and enough ink and paper for over 500 prints.
Lindsey Coy Montrose, PA Civic Engagement • Preserving Historical Documents Despite two floods and one fire in the past twelve years, the Franklin Forks United Methodist Church in Montrose, PA houses over 151 years of important historical documents about the community’s history. Lindsey recruited volunteers to help preserve the documents in multiple locations, including electronic formats, so that anyone can have access to the community’s history.
Elizabeth Craig State College, PA Sports • The Gold Gear Project Elizabeth aimed to address the issues facing high school students who aren’t able to participate in sports because of lack of resources to purchase their own athletic equipment. She created a website, marketed to the community and collected athletic equipment donations for distribution.
Cori Cunningham
Dallastown, PA Military/Veterans Affairs • Missing Dinner Guest POW Table Cori made and decorated a table at the American Legion in Dallastown, PA dedicated to Prisoners of War/Missing in Action military. Cori sawed, stained, and sealed the table, and worked with a family friend to sew a tablecloth including the emblems of the military branches. She revealed her table at the Veterans Day Ceremony at the American Legion.
Dana Cutti
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Red Lion, PA Arts, Culture & Heritage • Orchestra Matters Dana created a library of orchestra music materials and an electronic inventory system for the music materials. After reorganizing and revamping the orchestra room, she hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony to reveal the new room and explain the new system. She hopes her project will result in more students joining the orchestra.
Jennifer Davison
Port Matilda, PA STEM • STEAM Mural at Discovery Space After Discovery Space’s relocation to State College, PA, Jennifer decided to help brand the new building by creating a mural for the empty walls. She designed the mural to highlight women in STEAM fields - hoping young girls who see the museum’s mural will be inspired to pursue their dreams in STEAM!
Sara DeMichele
Mechanicsburg, PA Health • Improving the Dental Health of Toddlers Sara organized hands-on activities for toddlers to teach them about proper dental hygiene. She used original videos and games to teach students proper brushing, flossing, and general best practices. Local dentists donated 130 bags of dental supplies which were given to the students and a local women’s and children’s emergency shelter.
Marah Dormuth Lewisbury, PA Animals • Downtown Pet Pantry Marah established a pet food pantry through Downtown Daily Bread, a soup kitchen in Harrisburg, PA. In less than a year, Marah distributed over 400 bags of dog and cat food through her pet food pantry to over 200 people.
Devon Driggers
Henryville, PA Animals • Feral Cat Shelters Devon tackled the issue of the feral cat population by reinstating a past program to trap, spay or neuter and release feral cats. She also created several feral cat shelters out of styrofoam coolers and hosted educational classes for members of the community to learn about the issue.
Sarah Esslinger Bloomsburg, PA Elderly Issues• Care in the Air Sarah worked with her local hospice music therapy team to ensure that those in hospice care feel supported and comforted through music therapy. Sarah utilized her love of music history to develop a full music therapy binder including an overview of what music therapy is and information about the local hospice music therapy group.
Isabella Fisher Tannersville, PA Life Skills • The Old Glory Mission Isabella educated members of her community about proper care and retirement of the American flag. She removed flags from her school district’s classrooms that weren’t in mint condition and spoke to her teachers and classmates about the importance of proper flag care while doing so. She then conducted an official flag retirement 13 ceremony at the Elks Lodge in East Stroudsburg, PA.
Emma Gemberling
Lewisburg, PA Children’s Issues • Coloring Helps Emma created coloring story books for children admitted to the Evangelical Community Hospital in Lewisburg, PA. The coloring story books were designed to provide children with entertainment, stress relief, and hope for healing.
Emily Gloeckner Shrewsbury, PA Health • Get Out and GaGa Emily encouraged teenagers to put their phones away and get outside by constructing a GaGa pit at the Charles Sweeney Memorial Park in Shrewsbury, PA. GaGa, a fast-paced, high energy sport played in an octagonal pit structure, serves as a great workout. Emily also organized a GaGa tournament to further promote physical fitness.
Megan Gouldy Mechanicsburg, PA Education • Children’s Reading Corner Megan created a reading corner at the Benjamin Franklin Elementary School in Harrisburg, PA, to help underprivileged children develop stronger reading and writing skills. She installed and painted shelving units, provided tables and chairs, a bean bag chair, pillows, plenty of reading and writing materials, and painted a mural on the wall.
Madison Guzzo Hawley, PA Animals • Bow Wow! Now that’s a Good Dog Park! Madison worked to make her local dog park more environmentally-friendly and visually appealing. She worked with the Hemlock Farms Conservancy to excavate land and place new dirt, stones and grass in the park, allowing for better water drainage. She also organized the building of new benches for the park, and created signage stressing the importance of cleaning up after pets.
Anna Harter
Mifflinburg, PA STEM • Second Grade Independent STEM Kits Anna researched and created 12 STEM activity kits for second grade teachers to use at her local elementary school. She created a tutorial video for the teachers so that the activity kits would be used as intended generating interest and enthusiasm in the fields of STEM for second graders.
Mary Heaton
Gettysburg, PA Civic Engagement • Vote Your Voice Mary worked to encourage young people not only to register to vote, but to vote in every election. She created a social media campaign and held voter registration drives at local schools and colleges to increase involvement in government.
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Lyndsey Hertneky York, PA Animals • Pet Supply Pantry Lyndsey created a pet food supplies pantry to assist those in need, with pets. To make her project come to life, Lyndsey wrote letters asking for donations, advertised on social media, and distributed a flyer she made. The pantry is located in the Catholic Harvest Food Pantry in York, PA.
Kathryn Hicklin Harrisburg, PA Animals • Responsible PAWS Dog Fair Kathryn’s “Reponsible PAWS Dog Fair” aimed to educate the Harrisburg community about proper care for the animals she loves most - dogs. Multiple organizations attended the fair and provided educational information about responsible dog ownership. The dog fair also included a photo booth, dog toy make-and-take station, and a dog game station.
Taylor Hoverter Dillsburg, PA Civic Engagement • Concussion Advocacy Taylor researched the effects of concussions and raised awareness in her community by giving a presentation at Northern High School in Dillsburg, PA. She also distributed pamphlets with additional information to ensure that community members are aware of the dangers of concussions and feel comfortable seeking treatment.
Nicole Jacobs
Dallas, PA Domestic Violence • Snuggles Blankets Nicole made and sent pillow blankets to those affected by domestic violence to help them feel loved, comforted, and supported. She made a pamphlet with instructions for how to make the pillow blankets, and she presented her project to the PA Quilters, the Shavertown United Methodist Church, the Shavertown United Church, and Camp Mocanaquah to educate others about her project and encourage them to participate.
Emily Kerstetter
Mifflinburg, PA STEM • Mifflinburg School Exploration Room Emily created a STEM Lab in Mifflinburg Elementary School to increase children’s interest in STEM at a young age and direct more children towards interest in a STEM career. She presented the lab to teachers at a faculty meeting, who have integrated the STEM Lab materials into the daily lesson plans.
Lydia Kessler Harrisburg, PA Environment and Sustainability • Rain Garden at Brightbill Park In an effort to combat the issue of storm water runoff, Lydia created a rain garden at Brightbill Park. Rain gardens help bring water back into the ground and filter it naturally, rather than allowing it to flow into and pollute streams and rivers. When rain and snow melt, rain gardens pick up pollutants such as natural gases, chemicals and fertilizers.
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Maris Kilgus Watsontown, PA Outdoors • Building a Firepit at Zion Lutheran Church Maris wanted to make a difference in her church – the Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church in Turbotville, PA. Thinking about how widely-used the church’s outdoor picnic pavilion area is, Maris decided to expand the area and make it more accommodating by adding a brick fire pit for all to enjoy, and a fire safety sign to ensure the fire pit was properly cared for during use.
Eva King
Wilkes Barre, PA Environment & Sustainability • The Bee Project Eva created a bee garden in a local park to help the bee population thrive, and to beautify her community. Eva organized a bake sale to help fund the project, purchased flowers from a local farmer, and planted the garden herself.
Srija Konduru
Hummelstown, PA Disaster Relief • Be Prepared Srija prepared detailed lesson plans (in English and Teugu) and visited schools in Nandigma, India to provide students with the education they need to be prepared in floods or fires. She organized a prepararation drive for the schools in Nandigama through which she was able to provide them with supplies, such as their first fire extinguishers.
Olivia Krise
Enola, PA Health • Growing in Health Olivia worked with students with special needs at her high school to teach them about healthy eating, responsibility, and basic gardening. She taught them how to plant seeds, grow plants and continue taking care of them. Moving forward, “Growing in Health” will be overseen by the Environment Club at the high school, which will start incorporating classes in East Pennsboro Area School District’s green house.
Kyra Krzywicki Kingston, PA Civic Engagement • Kingston Police K-9 Memorial Dog Park Kyra built a new dog park in her hometown of Kingston, PA. The dog park includes sections for large dogs and small dogs, toys, water fountains, and agility obstacle courses. Because of the new dog park, owners have a clean and safe space to take their dogs to exercise, train and socialize.
Alexis Lanza
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Dallas, PA Civic Engagement • Project Linus Alexis made and sent blankets to those struggling with severe illnesses to help them feel loved, comforted, and supported. She made a pamphlet with instructions for how to make the blankets, and she presented her project to the PA Quilters, the Shavertown United Methodist Church, and Girl Scout Service Unit 319 to educate others and encourage them to participate
Mary Madeline Lewis Pittston, PA Civic Engagement • Florence Foster Jenkins: Historical Marker Maddie honored Florence Foster Jenkins, a world-famous singer, who was a constant support to music groups and has inspired many to pursue what they are passionate about. Maddie established a permanent marker of her in front St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Wilkes-Barre, PA, and hosted an evening to showcase and celebrate her life.
Alexis Logsdon York, PA Sports • Storage Unit Construction Alexis built a storage unit at the York Catholic High School football field. She created blue prints for the structure, applied for a building permit, collected donations of materials and services, and organized a construction team. She also used her project to educate members of the community about York Catholic High School’s Athletic Association.
Kaylee Magda Scranton, PA Children’s Issues• Re-Thread Community Closet Kaylee partnered with NEPA Youth Shelter to organize a clothing drive and create the Re-Thread Community Closet, a clothing pantry for struggling, homeless teenagers in Scranton, PA. The clothing pantry benefits over 100 teens enrolled at the NEPA Youth Shelter.
Sarah Mahoney
Lewisburg, PA Military/Veterans Affairs • Veterans Remembered: Past, Present, and Future Sarah created a Veterans Memorial Garden at the Lewisburg Area High School, and she implemented new curriculum for freshmen to learn about the Garden. To further raise awareness, Sarah gave presentations at Veterans events, published newspaper articles, and spoke on the radio. Because of Sarah’s efforts, State Resolution #1146 proclaims November as Veterans Awareness Month.
Emma Mahute State College, PA Children’s Issues • Preschool Buddy Bench Emma installed a Buddy Bench at the playground of ABC’s Children Center to promote inclusivity on the playground. She developed curriculum with coloring pages, a book, and a Buddy Bench pledge to teach children ages 3-5 the purpose of the Buddy Bench and how to use it.
Makenna Martin
Hanover, PA Environment & Sustainability • Heartfelt Harvest Makenna collected plant donations, gardening tools and fencing, and then planted a garden with help from her Girl Scout troop to benefit those in need at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Hanover, PA. She organized volunteers to care for the garden each week, and prepared the produce to be taken by parishioners after each Mass.
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Samantha Martin Carlisle, PA Civic Engagement • Carlisle Votes Samantha partnered with the League of Women Voters to create a presentation and workbook to use when educating students about voting. Samantha presented her project to other troops, youth groups, Sunday Schools, after-school and service groups. She also created a Facebook page and a website with her presentation materials and additional information about voting.
Bianca Mazzarella Pittston, PA Arts, Culture & Heritage • Live On Bianca wanted the legacy of her grandfather, who is currently in a nursing home, along with the legacies of those around him, to live on for years to come. She conducted 15 interviews, capturing pieces of their childhoods, marriages, memories of global and local events, and for some, military duty. She preserved the interviews on CDs and gifted them to the families of the interviewees.
Delaney McCracken
Mechanicsburg, PA Elderly Issues • A Generation of Friendship Delaney launched a letter-writing campaign to address the lack of communication between the teenage and senior citizen generations, with a goal of fostering/strengthening friendships between the generations. She leveraged social media to gain further support for her campaign.
Pressley McMaster
York, PA Education • Murals Pressley combined her passion for art with her desire to increase awareness for mental health by painting encouraging, uplifting murals in the walls of her church youth group and common areas. She also educated the community about the importance of maintaining good mental health.
Rachel Mencer
Lancaster, PA Public Safety • Self Defense for Everyone Rachel planned, hosted, advertised and taught a self-defense class at the YMCA, focusing specifically on vulnerability and assult. The class was open to the public and more than 40 people attended. Rachel also planned, filmed and edited YouTube videos demonstrating the various self-defense techniques she taught in the class.
Katie Mitchell
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Bellefonte, PA Education • Put Down the Electronics and Pick up a Book To encourage students to read more, Katie painted lockers adjacent to the Bellefonte Elementary School library entrance to look like book spines. At another school, she made paracord bracelets, a board with various knots, a wooden tic tac toe board, and various Lego projects - all displayed with instruction books to encourage students to read and try the project for themselves.
Lauren Murphy-Sweet Mechanicsburg, PA Elderly Issues • Lasting Memory Quilts Lauren launched the “Lasting Memory Quilts Project” for residents in the memory care unit of Country Meadows in Mechanicsburg, PA. She organized monthly get togethers with the residents where she made lap quilts with them. She then gifted the lap quilts to the residents to keep them warm and provide them with something tactile to hold.
Jessica Nelson
Stewartstown, PA Elderly Issues • Comfort Companions Jessica established a club at her high school, called “Comfort Companions,” to pair high school students with elderly retirement home members and help foster connections. Jessica created a club manual outlining the purpose of the club and next steps so that it can continue after she graduates.
Noel Nelson Cresco, PA Education • Nutritional Breakfast and Lunch Event Noel hosted a healthy brunch at the Christ Episcopal Church to improve the health and nutrition of low-income members of her community. More than 65 people were served. She also distributed copies of the recipes with tips for healthy eating.
Angel Patton Berwick, PA Elderly Issues • Angel’s Heart Angel explored her love of music by creating “Angel’s Heart,” a music therapy program benefiting members of retirement homes. Angel hosted mini-concerts to brighten residents’ moods and specifically decrease residents’ levels of depression or sadness.
Leah Patzkowsky
State College, PA Life Skills • Personal Care Pantries Leah created two personal care pantries to provide for the homeless in her community. The first pantry exists at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, and the second pantry - created in partnership with “Out of the Cold,” an organization that provides shelter during the cold winter months - is smaller and portable to be able to travel to different locations.
Abigail Paul
Jim Thorpe, PA Education • Little Free Library Abigail built a Little Free Library, a large outdoor box for holding books, in her local park. The Little Free Library contains books for children and adults completely free of charge, and is designed to encourage the community to read more and increase literacy skills.
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Paige Potalivo
Enola, PA Education • Reusable Face Masks Inspired by her aunt’s fight against cancer, Paige made 200 reusable fabric face masks with antimicrobial lining in fun patterns for adults, teens, and small children - especially helpful for preventing airborne illnesses from spreading in hospital settings. She made packaging with instructions for use and care, the link to the pattern she used, and the link to the YouTube video she made, explaining how to make one for yourself.
Kayla Prestianni Lords Valley, PA Education • Edible Garden Kayla created an edible garden and educated the community about the negative effects of pollution and leaving a carbon footprint. She worked in collaboration with the teachers and students of Pine Bush Elementary School District to collect donations, plant the garden, and foster the plants.
Olivia Prosser Gardners, PA Health • Health and Emergency Service Awareness Olivia organized Health and Safety Awareness days in which she educated the community about living a healthy lifestyle. Vendors included Zumba instructors, a dentist, a massage therapist, and the SPCA. Members from the State Police and fire companies gave demonstrations for staying safe during emergency situations, and a medical helicopter was available for tours.
Jenavieve Pursell
Swoyersville, PA Life Skills • Mericle Mile Jenavieve coordinated the installation of a walking trail along the buildings of a business park to encourage health and fitness for employees, especially those who sit at desks for the majority of the day. Jenavieve hopes that even a short walk along the walking trail will reap many health benefits for employees.
Allyson Scheunemann Millville, PA Outdoors • Girls ROC Mountain Bike Camp Allyson started a mountain bike camp called “Girls ROC Mountain Bike Camp”. The girls are coached by all female mountain bikers, including Allyson. Allyson’s team of mountain bikers, some with no experience, largely grew in confidence over the course of the camp and mountain biking season, and felt encouraged to spend more time outdoors.
Elizabeth Sheedy
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Harrisburg, PA Animals • Raising a Susquehanna Service Dog Elizabeth spent countless hours training her puppy, Vanna, into becoming a service dog. She took her to weekly behavioral classes, taught her tricks, and trained her in challenging locations around the community. Elizabeth will soon give Vanna away to someone who could benefit from a service dog.
Hope Shiltz
Pleasant Mills, PA Outdoors • Being One with Nature Hope built benches for Kids Adventure Camp in Mt. Pleasant Mills, PA, and organized a painting class for students grades K-12, where she taught them how to paint the benches. The benches were placed around the pond and playground equipment at the park. Hope shared her project through social media, the newspaper, and church bulletins.
Elizabeth Stevenson
New Freedom, PA Children’s Issues • Back to School Picnic Elizabeth worked with PA Child, a foster organization, to organize a Back to School Picnic in John Rudy Park for local foster children. With help from her troop and donations from her local True Value, Elizabeth set up six different carnival games for the children to play. More than 70 children participated, winning tickets they then redeemed for school supplies to use in the upcoming school year.
Rachel Stuber Huntingdon, PA Healthy Relationships • GLOW Rachel launched a club for middle schoolers and high schoolers who identify with the LGBT+ community. The club serves as an open, supportive, safe space for students to participate in organized activities and events, make new friendships and build confidence.
Brooke Taylor
Kingston, PA Disability • Swings for Chase, an HIE Awareness Project Brooke organized the installation of swings in her local park designed specifically for those with special needs. She networked with parents and children who would benefit from the swings, and hosted an event for their unveiling. She created a Facebook page to further promote her project.
Joy Tushek Gettysburg, PA Education • Citizen Science in the Outdoors: Learn About Our PA State Symbols! Joy partnered with the Strawberry Hill Nature Preserve (SHNP) in Fairfield, PA, and developed seven educational lesson plans about the PA State Symbols for SHNP’s summer camp residents. Joy’s lesson plans provide children with outdoor education and help eliminate sedentary lifestyles, and they can be used for years to come.
Fiona Valore York, PA Outdoors • Bluebird Boxes To help conserve the bluebird population, Fiona built ten bird boxes designed specifically for bluebirds and installed them along the Heritage Rail Trail in York County. She supported her project with social media and presentations to her troop.
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Brooklyn Varner
Cornwall, PA Outdoors • Triangle Therapeutic Sensory Stimulation Brooklyn created focal points and objects for the Triangle Trail at the Triangle Therapeutic Riding Center in Reinholds, PA, enhancing learning for horseback riders. Brooklyn also made brochures about her project which she distributed to local businesses.
Sarah Volk York, PA Sports • Ticket Booth and Storage Unit Construction Sarah built a ticket booth at the York Catholic High School football field. She created blueprints for the structure, applied for a building permit, gathered materials, and organized a construction team. She also used her project to educate members of the community about York Catholic High School’s Athletic Association.
Annie Wagner
Enola, PA Animals • Trap Neuter Release Awareness Program Annie tackled the issue of feral cat reproduction by educating the community about the process of Trap, Neuter and Release (TNR). She set up a booth outside her local PetValu and created a word search with key words related to TNR for children. Annie also distributed brochures to local veterinarian clinics, and made a YouTube video called “Taking it Global” in which she described five action steps to help feral cats.
Ashton Waltemyer
York, PA Civic Engagement • Hanover Fire Museum Ashton, a volunteer firefighter, worked to restore the Hanover Fire Museum. She put in new windows, tiled floors, painted walls, and more, to bring the building up to modern code. Her goal was to preserve its original 1980s look, but bring it up to date for functioning in today’s era. She used her project to educate the community about the work of firefighters and recruit new volunteers.
Sarah Watkins State College, PA Environment & Sustainability • Little Flat CCC Cabin Preservation Sarah preserved a cabin built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), a work relief program that gave millions of young men employment during the Great Depression. With help from volunteers, she cleaned, repainted, and fixed damaged parts of the cabin so that it will remain public property and will continue to serve as a historic landmark.
Lorynn Watt
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East Stroudsburg, PA Health • Type 1 Juvenile Diabetes Awareness Lorynn raised awareness for Type 1 Diabetes and advocated for a cure through her web forum called the “Dead Pancreas Society,” and spoke to local government officials about the disease and its impact. She also leveraged social media and created her own Facebook page to raise awareness.
Amanda Works
Mechanicsburg, PA Children’s Issues • Foster Family Fall Festival Amanda planned a Foster Family Fall Fest to shed light on the importance of fostering and adoptive care, and to help foster/adopted children and their parents feel special. She planned the event in its entirety, including purchasing supplies, recruiting volunteers, organizing all games and activities, and sending guests home with homemade keepsakes.
Elizabeth Yealy
New Oxford, PA Environment & Sustainability • Going Green Elizabeth educated her community about the importance of going green. She researched various topics like recycling, composting, and pollution, visited several community events and created hands-on activities for adults and children, like matching tiles of recyclable images to their correct type of recycling bins.
Rachelle Youells Forty Fort, PA Civic Engagement • A Cemetery Revival/Memorial Project Rachelle organized a work day at the Woodlawn Gardens Cemetery to help restore the cemetery and make necessary repairs. She also attained a new bench to honor her cousin, Justin, an Eagle Scout, who passed away unexpectedly in 2018 and created a social media page to make the project more well-known.
Taylor Zackarias Tunkhannock, PA Military/Veteran’s Affairs • Honoring Our Veterans Taylor’s project was designed to honor local Veterans of Tunkhannock, PA, and give them the recognition she felt they deserved. Determined to do something special, Taylor put all of her efforts into purchasing a bench as a tribute to Veterans in her local cemetery.
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Congratulations, Gold Award Girl Scouts! This is just the beginning!
Graduating seniors...keep in touch! • Update your contact information by reaching out to our Member Services team at 800.692.7816 or MemberServices@gshpa.org • Follow the Girl Scout Network on LinkedIn http://bit.ly/gradgirl • Purchase a Lifetime Membership - as an alum under the age of 30, enjoy a special rate of $200 (regularly priced at $400) for a Lifetime Membership. As an added bonus, when you sign up as a lifetime member, $25.00 of your dues will automatically fund one year of Girl Scout membership for an underserved girl right here in the Heart of Pennsylvania! 24
Getting involved is important. At M&T Bank, we know how important it is to support those organizations that make life better in our communities. That’s why we offer our time and resources, and encourage others to do the same. Learn more at mtb.com.
Congratulations the earners of the of Girlthe Scout Award. Congratulationstoto the recipients GirlGold Scout Gold Award.
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McKonly & Asbury is proud to support GSHPA!
Congrats to each Girl Scout earning the Gold Award! PPO&S is proud to support outstanding girls who will change the world.
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Highmark Blue Shield is proud to support the 2019 Gold Award Celebration.
Now You’re GOLDEN We congratulate you! Going Gold is quite an achievement. You’ve joined an elite group — a group of young women proven to have the
You lead. You inspire. You change lives.
dedication and commitment to fulfill productive life-goals. Your focus, your abilities and your determination have earned you well-deserved congratulations.
HIGHMARKBLUESHIELD.COM Highmark Blue Shield is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.
together
WE’RE BUILDING A
HEALTHIER
COMMUNITY
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f o k r o w t e n t n a r b i v a o t s e m m u o l c a l t e u W o c S l ir G n o i l l i m 0 er 5 tt e b a over d l r o w e th e k a who m place!