Gold Award Girl Scouts

Erica Borzone

Jericho/Syosset Service Unit Troop 3518

Volleyball Outreach Program

Erica Borzone earned her Gold Award by creating the Volleyball Outreach Program at the Boys & Girls Club of America. This program offers the sport of volleyball for youth who may not have access to the sport. Erica’s Gold Award project will be sustainable by engaging with other volunteers at various Boys & Girls Clubs through the use of her workbook, Volleyball Outreach Program Training.

Erica has been a Girl Scout since kindergarten, and her most memorable project was the troop effort to help an elderly neighbor comply with a local ordinance to clean up her property and plant new trees and flowers. Erica is a rising sophomore at Bentley University where she is currently a member of the Women’s Leadership Program, Honors Program, and the women’s volleyball team. She is majoring in finance.

Sophia Cano Garden City Service Unit

Troop 1403

Don’t Drink From the Hose

Sophia Cano embarked on a Gold Award with the mission of educating children about the potential dangers of hose water. Her strategy involved writing and illustrating a children’s book that she presented to the local community. To ensure the quality of the book, Sophia partnered with book editors and Spanish teachers for the Spanish translation. In addition to the physical book, Sophia created a website for easy access to the project online, making it sustainable and available for the community to use as a resource. Sophia’s passion and dedication to her cause have undoubtedly made an impact on the community, raising awareness and educating children about the potential dangers of hose water.

Sophia Cano will be senior at St. Mary’s High School in Manhasset. She is involved in painting her school play’s sets, Art Club, and the National Honor Society. A memory she will never forget is going to Washington DC with her troop, a truly memorable trip that enriched her knowledge of America. Her Gold Award project gave her confidence in presenting and instilled the value of hard work.

Catherine Broderick Manhasset Service Unit

Troop 541

Swim Safety For Life

Catherine Broderick’s Gold Award project helped the children at Project Head Start improve their water fluency and taught the skills needed to swim safely. Catherine partnered with Adventures in Learning and recruited lifeguards, running a twice-a-week clinic at the Whitney Pond Park Pool to teach and reinforce the necessary skills. Catherine created a swim program and YouTube video explaining her process that Head Start and other schools and camps can use to create clinics to help children learn the necessary skills to avoid drowning, the highest cause of death in children.

A graduate of Manhasset High School, Catherine was a five-year member and senior captain of the varsity swim team, two-time varsity golf team member, and a two-time Presidential Award recipient, volunteering over 250 hours while in high school. Catherine loved her time as a Girl Scout, and her favorite memory was spending the night at the Metropolitan Museum. While earning her Gold Award, Catherine learned how important it is to stay focused on a long-term project. Catherine will be attending Fairfield University this fall.

Maria Dalia Garden City Service Unit Troop 1445

Food Allergy Awareness

To earn her Gold Award, Maria Dalia worked with teachers at Garden City Middle School to add a lesson to teach students about food allergies. She developed worksheets to go along with the lesson, and she put pamphlets and educational information outside of local doctors’ offices and libraries. Maria’s project is sustained by her local middle school using the lesson for years to come, and all of her resources and information can be accessed on her Facebook group to teach others about food allergies.

A 2022 graduate of Garden City High School, Maria was a member of the National Honor Society, Tri-M Music Honor Society, and the National Italian Honor Society. Her fondest Girl Scout memory is camping outside of a cathedral with her friends and their families. While earning her Gold Award, she learned how to be an independent leader and step out of her comfort zone in order to reach her goals. She is currently a rising sophomore at Penn State University.