2016 Gold Award Book - Girl Scouts - North Carolina Coastal Pines

2016

Girl Scout Gold Awards

Girl Scouts – North Carolina Coastal Pines

Girl Scouts – North Carolina Coastal Pines As one of 112 Girl Scout councils chartered by Girl Scouts of the USA, Girl Scouts – North Carolina Coastal Pines serves over 26,000 girl members and more than 9,000 adult members across 41 central and eastern North Carolina counties. With administrative headquarters in Raleigh, regional service centers in Goldsboro, Fayetteville, and Wilmington, our capacity to support girls and provide relevant and engaging programming continues to grow.

The Girl Scout Gold Award Since 1916, Girl Scouts have successfully answered the call to Go Gold, an act that indelibly marks them as accomplished members of their communities and the world. The Girl Scout Gold Award stands for excellence and leadership for girls everywhere, and is the highest and most prestigious achievement in Girl Scouting.

When a Girl Scout embarks on her award journey, she commits to take action and create a lasting change in her community. She demonstrates significant leadership, planning, networking, and organizational skills as she spends, on average, one to two years working to complete her Gold Award Take Action project.

Awarded to fewer than six percent of Girl Scouts annually, girls who earn the Girl Scout Gold Award join generations of young women who have made a difference in their community both locally and globally. In recognition of their achievements, Gold Awardees who join the United States Armed Forces enter at one rank higher than other recruits.

Girl Scouts – North Carolina Coastal Pines congratulates each of our 2016 Girl Scout Gold Award recipients for achieving their goals and earning this distinguished honor.

In 2016, Girl Scouts celebrated 100 years of girls changing the world. The Girl Scout Gold Award Centennial Celebration recognized all young women who have earned the Girl Scout Gold Award, or its equivalent, since 1916 as courageous leaders and visionary change makers. This year-long celebration recognized the power behind each recipient’s dedication to not only empowering and bettering herself, but also making the world a better place for others.

Girl Scouting’s Highest Award Since the council’s unification in 2007, which established Girl Scouts – North Carolina Coastal Pines, 562 Girl Scout Seniors and Ambassadors have achieved the highest award in Girl Scouting.

Girl Scouts – North Carolina Coastal Pines takes great pride in recognizing the outstanding accomplishments of the 71 young women who earned the Girl Scout Gold Award in 2016.

Hats off to all of our award recipients for demonstrating leadership, advocacy and compassion, and taking action to make a difference in the world.

Steps to the Gold Award Fulfilling the requirements for the Girl Scout Gold Award starts with the completion of two Girl Scout Senior or Ambassador Journeys. After the requirements have been fulfilled, girls spend a suggested minimum of 80 hours of work and service towards their Gold Award projects, which include these steps: • Identifying an issue • Investigating it thoroughly • Inviting others to participate and building a team • Creating a plan • Submitting a proposal to Girl Scout Gold Award Committee • Gathering feedback • Taking action • Educating and inspiring others

4 The Girl Scout Gold Award

2016 Girl Scout Gold Award Recipients Abbey Noel Acree

Elizabeth Quiqiang Helminski

Jessica May Pabst

Kathleen Marie Bernhard

Alexis Mona Hollis

Brooke Patrice Palmer

Hannah Nicole Brown

Rhea Jain

Elizabeth Dianne Palmer

Cherilyn M. Caggia

Caroline Anna Jones

Tejal Patwardan

Claire McKenzie Cajka

Hope Elizabeth Jones

Hannah Grace Phillips

Ashley Gray Carter

Kamaria Adilah Kaalund

Carmen Elise Prestemon

Dorothy Diane Colon

Prarthana Ravi Kalmath

Kristi Nicole Reep

Meagan Leigh Colston

Anneka Findlay Kleine

Christen Anne Rogers

Brianna Marie Cunliffe

Victoria Elaine Kosinski

Hannah Grace Sadel

Chloe Mathilde DeRosa

Mei Hannah Lander

Jennifer Savage

Elizabeth Anne DeVido

Kristina Marie Lane

Virginia Leigh Savage

Caroline Connemara Doherty

Yaminah Nailah Lewis

Alyssa Schoaff

Ashley Noel Eamma

Elizabeth Anne Long

Molly Shannon Seelinger

Megan Anne Earnhart

Olivia Grace Loyack

Anja Mara Sheppard

Lauren Shirley Epstein

Arushi Mahajan

Breanne Smith

Patricia Diane Faulk

Zara N. Mehta

Clarissa Grace Somers

Sarah Medley Ford

Cailley Anne Michaud

Elaine Dorothea Taylor

Abigail Grace Gargiulo

Sarah Michelle Moody

Samantha Marie Thomas

Rachel Mills Gilmore

Gabrielle Deanna Morello

Lauren Alyssa Wagner

Nidhi Godthi

Gillian Margaret Munro

Grace Munro Warner

Olivia Leigh Hall

Michaela Marie Myer

Morgan Paige Whithaus

Amalia R. Harsany

Kaylyn Rogers Norville

Charlotte Rose Wilson

Kathryn Adcock Hayne

Emily Clare Orton

Ashlyn Paige Woodlief

Desiree H. Helbig

Corena Rebecca Owens 2016 Recipients 5

Abbey Noel Acree

Kathleen Marie Bernhard

Hannah Nicole Brown

Roanoke Rapids, Halifax County Project: Challenger League Issue: Helping Differently-Abled Citizens

Wilmington, New Hanover County Project: Cinderella Come as You Are Ball Issue: Building Self-Confidence

Wake Forest, Wake County Project: Cyber Seniors Issue: STEM Education

Motivated by the limited opportunities and activities that differently-abled citizens had available to them in her local community, Abbey jumped into action by creating a t-ball program called The Challenger League. This new league provided over 28 intellectually and developmentally disabled individuals with the opportunity to be a part of a team, learn good sportsmanship, and make new friends. Abbey recruited 50 volunteers from her Girl Scout troop and school clubs to serve as buddies to the players and coaches on the team. Thanks to Abbey’s hard work and dedication, The Challenger League continues to be very successful and active with the help of dedicated volunteers.

In an effort to generate awareness on the effects of bullying and to build self-confidence, Kathleen hosted an event for children called the Cinderella Come as You Are Ball. Children ages five through 11 attended the ball decked-out in their best superhero and princess outfits to participate in the activities.

They sang songs and were taught lessons that encouraged self-respect, and how to stand up for their personal values and beliefs. Showing the children that every voice matters, Kathleen also led attendees through a series of team building and problem-solving exercises to foster friendship and understanding.

Kathleen’s project helped attendees leave with a stronger sense of self as well as several anti-bullying techniques to help them recognize antagonizing behavior and use their voice to advocate for themselves and others.

With technology constantly changing and users becoming younger every day, Hannah wanted to focus on helping increase the number of computer users within the senior citizen community.

Looking to ease the use of new technology, she created an iPad lab called Cyber Senior Café located at a local retirement community. Hannah created a plan, collected iPad donations, developed a system to check the equipment in and out, and taught residents to use the technology for communication and entertainment purposes. Because of Hannah’s passion for teaching others, senior citizens at the Cyber Senior Café will continue to have the means to utilize new technology and have the opportunity to communicate virtually with family and friends.

6 The Girl Scout Gold Award

Cherilyn M. Caggia

Claire McKenzie Cajka

Ashley Gray Carter

Cary, Wake County Durham, Durham County Project: Youth Serving Military Project: Introducing Girls to STEM Issue: Veteran and Military Assistance Issue: STEM Education

Whiteville, Columbus County Project: Soccer Benches for Healthier Youth in Columbus County Issue: Healthy Living

With a desire to give back, Cherilyn created an inter-youth council dedicated to honoring the military because she recognized a gap that did not allow youth direct service opportunities with those serving our country. Her council volunteered at service events hosted

by Military Missions in Action, a local non-profit organization dedicated to assisting veterans with disabilities and members of the armed forces. Cherilyn also organized a collection that created 120 care packages filled with socks, baby wipes, and beef jerky, which she donated to homeless veterans and service men and women overseas. Her project received extremely positive feedback from the veterans, who appreciated the care packages and enjoyed the company of Cherilyn and her fellow volunteers.

Her outstanding leadership skills benefitted members of her youth council by developing awareness of the issues our veterans face and compassion through service.

Understanding the importance of physical activity and healthy habits in young athletes, Ashley’s project focused on getting proper resting areas for the local soccer teams. After noticing that youth soccer players did not have benches to sit on during games, she became concerned that these athletes couldn’t rest properly. Ashley constructed 12 15-foot wooden benches at Columbus County Parks for soccer players, coaches, and parents to sit on during games. Additionally, to encourage participation in sports, Ashley created a brochure containing information about seasonal sports. She believes that athletics are important to children’s mental and physical health, and that participation can help prevent diabetes and anxiety by promoting self-confidence.

She hopes that her benches and brochures will encourage children to get involved and remain active in order to lead a healthy lifestyle.

After learning that women are significantly underrepresented in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) fields globally, Claire wanted to foster girls’ interest in these fields by informing them of the opportunities available. She organized three fairs at her local library where booklets were distributed containing information on free STEM events in the community. Claire wanted to continue the outreach, so she created an online database where girls can access additional upcoming events. Because of the tremendous success of her STEM fairs, the Durham libraries will hold them regularly in the future.

Claire’s project gave girls the opportunity to learn about themselves and what they can achieve through STEM.

2016 Recipients 7

2016 marked the 100th anniversary of Girl Scouting’s highest award. Approximately one million Girl Scouts have earned the Girl Scout Gold Award or its equivalent since 1916. The Girl Scouts’ highest achievement honors young women who demonstrate extraordinary leadership skills.

8 The Girl Scout Gold Award

Dorothy Diane Colon

Meagan Leigh Colston

Smithfield, Johnston County Project: Cheer Camp 2016 Issue: Stereotypes

Roanoke Rapids, Halifax County Bethlehem Food Pantry Recipe and Proper Food Handling Pamphlets Issue: Hunger and Food Insecurity

In an effort to end stereotypes while encouraging an active lifestyle, Dorothy planned and hosted a cheer camp at her high school. She believes that cheerleading is often associated with girls of certain stereotypes, and she encouraged students to participate regardless of ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, or physical structure. As her school’s cheerleading captain, Dorothy used her expertise to teach basic cheer techniques such as jumps, motions, and conditioning. She also created a booklet explaining how to construct a cheer camp. In addition to proving that cheerleading is a fun opportunity for all students, her camp helped participants develop confidence and team building skills that will last for years to come.

With a passion to help families cook healthier meals and reduce food-borne illness, Meagan’s Take Action Project focused primarily on providing those who receive food from the Bethlehem Food Pantry with recipes and food handling pamphlets. She chose recipes that correlated with the food being given to the families, provided instructions on the safest way to prepare the meal, and shared tips on how to store the leftovers. Meagan prepared food samples from her pamphlet, such as vegetable soup and corn pudding, and served them during pantry meetings. This allowed her to provide an example of the delicious meals that could be created with the resources given while furthering her impact on the community.

Brianna Marie Cunliffe

Chloe Mathilde DeRosa

Elizabeth Anne DeVido

Wilmington, New Hanover County Project: Art for All: Closing the Opportunity Gap in Creativity Issue: Arts Education

Cary, Wake County Project: ASL (American Sign Language) Club Issue: Social Interaction with Differently-abled Students

Wilmington, New Hanover County Project: Costume Catalog/ Thalian Association Issue: Community Organization

With a desire to see everyone strive to their greatest creative potential and to have access to the arts, Brianna gave 30 third grade students the opportunity, regardless of their financial situation, to take an art course at the Brigade Boys and Girls Club. During her class, participants created, sculpted, sang, and danced to the best of their ability. At the end of the course she provided a variety of art supplies to the children so that they could continue to create and explore. She also developed a brochure detailing cost-effective art resources in the community to send home with the children. Through her project, Brianna inspired children to pursue their passions and share their creative talents with the world.

In an effort to make all children feel equal, Chloe invited hearing and deaf/hard of hearing students together to start an American Sign Language Club at her school. This club successfully brought students together to learn, have fun, and better understand each other’s cultures. She presided over the club and held hour-long weekly meetings during which she would teach the hearing students American Sign Language (ASL) and educate them on the differences between the deaf and hearing cultures. The deaf/hard of hearing students attended meetings to socialize with the hearing students and to help them practice their new ASL skills through conversation.

Chloe’s club decreased the social division and provided greater understanding between the two groups allowing for lifelong friendships to form.

After years of being involved in community theater, Elizabeth identified a need for an organzational system for costumes at the Thalian Association. She worked with members to create a more accessible space by cleaning and organizing the vast wardrobe and accessory inventory. Elizabeth went above and beyond by creating a cloud-based system to help keep track of all of the garments in the facility. In addition, she put together a “thank you” gift for the cast and crew of the Thalian Association’s December 2016 Youth Theater Production of “Babes in Toyland”. The theatre will continue to benefit from her project using her simple and efficient cloud system to locate and utilize costumes and accessories.

2016 Recipients 9

Caroline Connemara Doherty

Ashley Noel Eamma

Megan Anne Earnhart

Greenville, Pitt County Project: Concussion Identification and Treatment Issue: Concussion Treatment

Castle Hayne, New Hanover County Project: Nutrition and Conditioning Program for High School Women’s Lacrosse Issue: Athletic Health and Safety

Wilmington, New Hanover County Project: Patience for Patients Issue: Patient Comfort

Understanding the very serious health risks due to the lack of proper identification and treatment of concussions, Caroline set out to educate middle school and recreational athletes on improper and proper reactions to potential concussions. She created an educational video and presented her project to six local sports teams, and gave them customized bag tags listing the common symptoms of concussions for athletes. Caroline helped create a sense of responsibility in the athletes, so that they value their health and their teammates’ health over the outcome of their games. The informational video continues to serve as a resource located on the Pitt County Schools website for future teams and athletes to continue to practice and educate the importance and need for strong concussion safety and health.

10 The Girl Scout Gold Award

Believing that health is just as important on the field as off, Ashley provided her high school lacrosse team with ways to remain healthy and safe during games and practices as well as home and school. To motivate her teammates she provided them with a handbook detailing what players should eat before, during, and after games, along with instructions for helpful stretches to prevent injuries and maximize their endurance.

Ashley’s leadership and teamwork was exemplified through her project and the team will continue to utilize the resources she provided.

Recognizing that hospitalization can lead to depression in youth, Megan developed her project around providing comfort and hopefulness to children while in the infirmary.

She collected donations of journals, art supplies, and binders to distribute in the pediatrics unit at New Hanover Regional Medical Center. Her goal was for children to use these supplies to express their emotions through art and writing.

She spent many hours volunteering with the children praising their work and playing with them. Because of her project, children can address their feelings in a creative and expressive manner that will positively impact their experience in the hospital.

Lauren Shirley Epstein

Patricia Diane Faulk

Sarah Medley Ford

Raleigh, Wake County Project: Feral Cat Awareness Issue: Feral Cats

Dudley, Wayne County Project: Worship for All Issue: Helping Those Confined Indoors

Apex, Wake County Project: Thrive: Leading a Beautiful Life in a Messy World Issue: Coping with Stress

In an effort to spread awareness, Lauren helped educate her community on the misconceptions about feral cats. She organized and worked with the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) of Franklin County to film a public service announcement to inform people that these cats are often misidentified as stray cats and are euthanized. In addition, Lauren also created an informational brochure about the differences between feral and stray cats, and about the disease that affects cats called Feline Viral Rhinotracheitis. To assist the feral cats in her community, she constructed houses out of reused barrels to give them shelter. She hopes that her project informs people about feral cats, so that they will not misidentify them and will help to keep them safe.

When she realized that members of her church could not attend weekly services due to a health issue or physical inability, Patricia took action.

As an active member of her church, Patricia decided to launch a online program that provided members who could not attend services with the essentials required to watch the service in DVD form. To help jump start the project, Patricia informed the congregation of her project, placed announcements in church media, arranged for weekly services to be recorded, and recruited volunteers to help deliver the DVDs to the members in need.

Her efforts made it possible for members to worship from home while having the opportunity to get to know the volunteers who visited them.

Identifying the need for stress relievers during school, extracurricular activities, and college applications, Sarah created workshops to help reduce stress among her peers. Her workshop, Thrive, consisted of a leader guide, student workbooks, and videos to carry out the program. Participants were given the opportunity to share with one another tips and stories on how they successfully cope with stress, allowing them to form a network of support. By creating a calm and inclusive environment where students could temporarily forget about their worries, Sarah assisted her peers by helping them learn mental health strategies and demonstrating ways to thrive outside of stressful situations.

2016 Recipients 11

12

Abigail Grace Gargiulo

Rachel Mills Gilmore

Nidhi Godthi

Garner, Wake County Project: Mental Health Awareness Issue: Mental Health

Wilmington, New Hanover Project: Support of Wilmington Interfaith Hospitality Network Issue: Community Organization

Cary, Wake County Project: A Melody of Change Issue: Arts Education

Concerned with the misconceptions that people have about mental disorders, Abigail focused her project on educating young teenagers on mental health. To help generate awareness around this important issue, she presented to youth in her local community about mental health and detailed different types of disorders, stigmas, and provided ideas on how to help those coping with disorders. Abigail provided attendees with informational bookmarks that listed the numbers of mental health hotlines and included the link to her presentation for future reference. The goal of her project was for teenagers to better understand those impacted by mental disorders.

For her Gold Award project, Rachel assisted Wilmington Interfaith Hospitality Network (WIHN) by organizing their workspace. To create a safe and orderly environment for the WIHN facility, she cleaned and sorted the area in which they store books and games, along with other craft supplies and program materials. In hopes of encouraging more members of the community to volunteer with WIHN, she designed a presentation promoting the organization to the public. She delivered her presentation to a number of churches, schools and other area groups in her local community.

Choosing to focus on the lack of music education, Nidhi offered free piano lessons to residents of the Ronald McDonald House of Durham.

As a piano player, Nidhi believes that the ability to play music is an emotional outlet and that everyone should have the opportunity to develop skills such as playing an instrument and reading sheet music.

Nidhi used her talents to prepare and lead the lessons and recruited volunteers from local music schools to assist her. She also created a music library for Ronald McDonald House containing music books and instrument donations. Through her project, Nidhi successfully decreased the disparity between those who want to take music lessons and those who have access to them.

The Girl Scout Gold Award

Olivia Leigh Hall

Amalia R. Harsany

Greenville, Pitt County Project: Writing Club Issue: Lack of Opportunities For Creative Writing

Jackson Springs, Moore County Project: West End Presbyterian Church Preschool Playground Issue: Child Play

Recognizing that students who enjoy reading and writing did not have an extracurricular outlet, Olivia created a writing club at her school. She realized that there was a collective interest in creative writing among many of her peers, and that students were generally unaware that they could start their own clubs based on their interests and passions.

After meeting with her principal for approval, Olivia began organizing meetings and holding elections for officers. The club served as a space for students to share their passion for the written word and it helped advocate for greater funding of the school’s art department. By the time her project was complete, the group had doubled in size and continues to be a success.

For her project, Amalia designed and built an outdoor play area at her church where children could enjoy nature while remaining close to the primary worship facility. To reach her goal, she maintained a budget and collected donations for the equipment while concurrently recruiting volunteers to assist her in the construction. Amalia dedicated time to conducting online consumer research and adhering to North Carolina’s zoning requirements to complete the playground. Amalia hopes that the completion of her project will help the church accomplish its goals such as offering preschool classes, improving vacation Bible school activities, and drawing in new members with families. The playground will continue to allow children to explore the outdoors in a safe environment and have fun alongside their faith.

The Gold Award project fulfills a need within a girl’s community — whether local or global — creates change, and is sustainable.

2016 Recipients 13

Kathryn Adcock Hayne

Desiree H. Helbig

Elizabeth Quiqiang Helminski

Apex, Wake County Project: Project FIGHT - Teenagers Issue: Human Trafficking

Zebulon, Wake County Project: Gardening and Healthy Cooking Issue: Sustainable Living

Cary, Wake County Project: Autumn Strong Project Issue: Resources for Orphanages

After finding that many of her peers were unaware that human trafficking is an issue everywhere and within all groups of people, Kathryn worked with the Salvation Army’s Project Freeing Individuals Gripped by Human Trafficking (FIGHT) to educate them.

She created a presentation that explained the definition of human trafficking and featured statistics on the matter. She was able to reach 360 people in the community by delivering her presentation six different times.

Her audiences included the county school board, principals, teachers, students, and parents. Kathryn’s project brought great awareness to the fact that human trafficking can happen anywhere and to anyone, and she inspired her school to add lessons on human trafficking into their curriculum.

Concerned with unhealthy eating habits among children, Desiree educated members of the local Boys and Girls Club on nutritious cooking and sustainable gardening. After researching the topic, Desiree believed that the root cause of the issue was high-priced produce and lack of nutritional knowledge. To help close the educational gap, Desiree presented culinary classes using healthy food choices, and created cookbooks and worksheets to send home with the children. She also planted a community garden teaching them how to maintain it.

Desiree provided the children with the knowledge that they need to sustain a healthy lifestyle, and gave them the opportunity to grow their own fresh fruits and vegetables to cook with their families.

Wanting to give back to the orphanage that she was adopted from in China, Elizabeth assisted in providing muchneeded resources for orphans with special needs. She created and managed a Facebook page called the Autumn Strong Project to connect orphanage representatives, adoption agencies, and adoptive families so that they could work together to better meet the needs of the underserved. She also collected donations from department stores and other donors, which included baby bottles and beanie babies to help provide the children with additional resources. Because of Elizabeth’s efforts, the children at the orphanage are now able to use the donations for comfort and play, and their needs will continue to be sustained through the Autumn Strong Project Facebook page.

14 The Girl Scout Gold Award

Alexis Mona Hollis

Rhea Jain

Caroline Anna Jones

Apex, Wake County Project: L.O.V.E. - Love of Volleyball Experience Issue: Athletic Opportunities

Apex, Wake County Project: Ekal Vidyalaya Youth Group and Hygiene Presentations Issue: Health and Sanitation

Wendell, Wake County Project: Swim Smart from the Start: Water Safety for Beginners Issue: Water Safety

Alexis channeled her athletic abilities and passion for volleyball to develop a camp called L.O.V.E., Love of Volleyball Experience, for girls in middle school ages 12-14. She identified a gap in the opportunities available to learn the game and sought to properly prepare girls to play by teaching them important rules and techniques. Her camp lasted six weeks and was free of charge to all participants. Alexis plans on hosting her camp in the future so that she can continue to inspire girls to stay active and be prepared to participate in high school sports. She hopes that the introduction to the sport will help future team members be successful players and competitive in their conference.

Inspired by a trip to India, Rhea chose to focus her project on improving hygiene practices in the Ekal Vidyalaya schools of India. She rallied her peers and formed a youth group to assist Ekal Vidyalaya, a non-profit organization that opens schools in rural India to improve literacy. Her youth group collected donations and assembled healthcare packages, which included items such as toothbrushes and soaps, to send to students at the Ekal Vidyalaya schools. Rhea also created presentations discussing different hygiene topics for teachers to share with their classes. She has made a lasting impact by providing children with the items they need to stay clean and healthy.

Caroline used her leadership, creativity, and swimming skills to educate youth in her community on the importance of water safety. She chose this project after learning that on average, 29 children die each year in North Carolina due to drowning.

She taught water safety lessons at the Zebulon Town Pool and devised a public service announcement. She also created a pamphlet to educate parents on how to keep children safe around water and posters to advertise the swim lessons in the community. Caroline collected donations to support the delivery of her lessons, certificates, t-shirts, pool rental, and lifeguard expenses.

Her water safety pamphlets continue to be available at Zebulon Town Pool.

2016 Recipients 15

Girl Scout Gold Award recipients have more positive attitudes about themselves and the lives they lead. 73% strongly feel they are competent and capable in the activities that are important to them, compared with 52% of non-alumnae.

16 The Girl Scout Gold Award

Hope Elizabeth Jones

Kamaria Adilah Kaalund

Goldsboro, Wayne County Project: Buddy Bears Issue: Hospital Patient Comfort

Oxford, Granville County Project: Nature Play Space at 17 Arce Wood: Connecting Community & Families Issue: Outdoor Accessibility

After working as a Junior Volunteer at Wayne Memorial Hospital, Hope recognized that patients are often nervous and anxious while receiving care. To help diminish fears, she provided patients with a sense of support by offering them handmade “buddy bears” to hold while experiencing anxiety. She collected supplies and made the bears herself. The bears provided support, companionship, and love to older adults in resting homes. Hope reached out to her community to share Buddy Bear’s mission and created a video and slideshow that her church shared on their website. Hope’s goal is that her project inspires others to show empathy and kindness to those in need.

With society indulging in technology more than ever, Kamaria addressed the issue of how the digitalized world has tremendously affected the way many people interact with nature. For her project, she teamed up with Ellerbe Creek Watershed Association to create a nature space that offers a clean and safe place for children to escape their devices and play. The area provides a non-traditional playground by providing children with tree stumps, logs, living tunnels and paths, for them to find their inner creative self, explore, and have fun.

Kamaria hopes to sustain her project through informational binders that she distributed to recreational groups and organizations. The binders provided information on how having natural play spaces for children can help cultivate an appreciation for nature at a young age, and also provided ideas for other organizations to implement their own nature play space.

Prarthana Ravi Kalmath

Anneka Findlay Kleine

Victoria Elaine Kosinski

Cary, Wake County Project: Make the World a Healthier Place: A Campaign on Improving Sanitary Conditions in Villages in India Issue: Health and Sanitation

Cary, Wake County Project: The Healthy Eating and Living Project Issue: Healthy Eating

Kinston, Lenoir County Project: Educate Protect Empower Issue: Domestic Violence

Wanting to bring healthier eating and living options to the local food pantries, Anneka created The Healthy Eating and Living Project (The HEAL Project) to help improve the nutritional level of food distributed by the pantry. She worked with donors to educate them on how to identify and donate healthier options. In addition, she provided materials in both English and Spanish to be given to grocery recipients, which included a produce cooking guide, quick nutrition guide, and a recipe book. Anneka also hosted a booth at her community farmers market where she handed out brochures and spoke with people about the issue of unhealthy donations given to food banks. She hopes that her project causes more people to donate healthy options so that recipients are able to make better meal choices.

Inspired to help women recognize and defend against domestic violence, Victoria designed a program to educate and teach women how to protect themselves. She taught unarmed self-defense classes to over 60 women, providing students with a patch and information on domestic violence. Additionally, she renovated a former doctor’s office into a SAFE house for victims of domestic violence, empowering women in the community to remain safe and protected. She will continue to work with SAFE in the future as the youngest elected Board Member.

Through this appointment, Victoria will continue to give her self-defense classes and empower women to protect themselves and remain strong.

For her project, Prarthana addressed the need for better sanitation and health practices in rural areas of third-world countries. She traveled to the village of Manvi, Karnataka, where she spent a week educating children on proper hygiene practices like hand washing, including hanging flyers around the school promoting good hygiene habits. She also met with teachers in the village and was able to integrate health and sanitation lessons into the school curriculum. When she returned home, she published a documentary on her journey to raise awareness about the problem and called the community to action to improve sanitary conditions around the globe.

2016 Recipients 17

Mei Hannah Lander

Kristina Marie Lane

Yaminah Nailah Lewis

Durham, Durham County Project: Promoting Literacy at the Emily K. Center Issue: Literacy

Raleigh, Wake County Project: Women’s Health and Empowerment Service Days Issue: Homelessness

Wilmington, New Hanover Project: Yummy’s Helping Hands Issue: Challenging Medical Conditions

Believing literacy skills to be the foundation of academic achievement, Mei partnered with the Emily K. Center to design a program for improving literacy among their students. In doing so, she hoped to address the achievement gap between socioeconomic groups so that they can benefit from and enjoy reading.

Throughout her project, Mei aided the students in a variety of ways including establishing a lending library that increased accessibility of reading materials, creating a sustainable book donation program, and launching a book club for the Center’s programming. These achievements allowed her to expand student knowledge and widen their ability to access books and visualize a path to success.

Kristina wanted her peers to have a better understanding of the homelessness amongst women within their community, so she took action and created a social gathering event.

She brought together students ranging from grades 9-12 from her high school and women of the Helen Wright Center, a program for single, homeless women, to socialize. Students were able to learn about these women and the circumstances that brought them to the center, along with understanding how they can make a difference within their community. The social gatherings allowed the women of the center to participate in a variety of activities including an art project, taste international food, and learn yoga all while feeling appreciated by those taking the time to get to know them.

Looking to generate awareness around rare and challenging medical conditions that primarily affect children, Yaminah rallied the local community to take action. She first held an event to recruit volunteers to help organizations that aid affected children and their families. Following, she hosted a local program called Yummy’s Helping Hands during which representatives from JDRF, GBS, and Victory Junction, three non-profits dedicated to helping those with diseases, spoke about their mission and how to get involved. She also set-up an informational booth about how to start volunteering with these organizations at Cape Fear Community College. Her project allowed local organizations to increase their volunteer outreach and make a larger impact on the lives of children with challenging medical conditions.

18 The Girl Scout Gold Award

Elizabeth Anne Long

Olivia Grace Loyack

Arushi Mahajan

Tabor City, Columbus County Project: Automated External Defibrillators Save Lives Issue: Cardiac Arrest Survival

Cary, Wake County Project: The Plight of the Honey Bee Issue: Honey Bee Hive Collapse

Chapel Hill, Orange County Project: Bridge the Gap Issue: Appreciation of Different Generations

Elizabeth educated over 400 local community members on how to use an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) for her project. After learning that AEDs can double the chances of survival by restoring heart rhythms, she sprung into action raising awareness. Ultimately an AED was purchased to store in a central part of town. Additionally, after attending several town meetings and speaking with the Cardiac Science Corporation, she was able to inspire her community to purchase a second AED to place in another part of the community.

She helped train the local residents on how to use the AED and created educational videos, posters, and pamphlets.

To address the problem of honey bee hive collapse, a name given to the strange disappearance and mass death of bee colonies, Olivia established several community pollinator gardens. This made pollinator-friendly plants available to the honey bees that were free of harmful pesticides. The locations of the gardens included her home, the Page-Walker Arts and History Center, and her church. The church held a dedication ceremony for their new pollinator garden at which Olivia was able to educate attendees on the issue.

She also led a pollinator workshop for Girl Scout Daisies. Olivia’s hard work helped educate people of all ages on how they could make a positive impact by planting pollinators for honey bees.

For her project, Arushi brought senior citizens and children together to foster a mutually beneficial and loving relationship between the two age groups within her community.

She hosted forums where children from the Boys and Girls Club and men and women from nearby senior centers could come together to meet and interact. The forums were held on a bi-weekly basis and participants were able to complete fun activities such as crafts and games to create shared experiences and memories to last a lifetime. Through her Take Action Project, Arushi hoped that the seniors would serve as mentors to the children by sharing stories and helping them with their academic activities.

2016 Recipients 19

Zara N. Mehta

Cailley Anne Michaud

Sarah Michelle Moody

Greenville, Pitt County Project: WASTED: A Food Waste Reduction Awareness Program Issue: Food Waste

Raleigh, Wake County Project: 40-Love Rebounces Issue: Recycling

Cary, Wake County Project: Importance and Awareness of Child Organ Donation Issue: Child Organ Donation

Understanding the direct impact waste has on the environment and humanity, Zara set out to educate third and fourth graders on the importance of food waste. With the help of the Child Nutrition Director for Pitt County Schools, she developed a three-part food waste reduction program that was designed to get children thinking about a solution. She created a fun environment for these children to learn about where their food comes from and where it goes when it’s thrown away; she even implemented recess before lunch so that students could work up a better appetite, which contributed to 30% reduction in cafeteria waste. With the help of some local high schoolers her project will continue at the Health Science Academy.

In an attempt to lessen the waste sent to landfills, Cailley raised awareness about the importance of recycling tennis balls. With the majority of globally manufactured tennis balls ending up in landfills, Cailley hosted an event at her local tennis club to help the community recognize and reduce the problem.

At the event, Cailley gave an educational presentation, led her audience in tennis trivia games, and organized a “tennis ball hunt” to help locate and recycle used tennis balls. Her event, 40-Love Rebounces, recycled over 600 tennis balls from the local tennis club and provided tennis ball recycling bins to continue the positive recycling habits put into effect through her project.

Wanting to increase awareness about child organ donations, Sarah put a spotlight on the issue by creating a presentation to share with her community including young adults, parents, and those who work with children. Realizing that many people only associate organ donations with adults, she believed that it was important for people to know that children can also donate. She provided parents with the resources and information needed to prepare a plan or make a decision if they are ever in a situation where organ donation is an option for their child. Sarah hopes that her project will raise awareness about child organ donations and make the decision to donate easier for parents.

20 The Girl Scout Gold Award

Gabrielle Deanna Morello

Gillian Margaret Munro

Cary, Wake County Project: Service to Our Service Dogs Issue: Service Animal Awareness

West End, Moore County Project: Learning through Language Issue: Literacy

Understanding the value of service dogs and issues of limited education regarding them, Gabrielle raised awareness of the diverse impact of service dogs within the community. She held workshops, created a website, and handed out informational booklets to people of all ages throughout Cary, Apex, and Raleigh. These materials contained details regarding the types of service dogs, identification of service dogs, laws involving them, how they are trained, and how people can get involved in the service dog community.

She also informed her community of the ongoing issue of the use of fake service dog vests and I.D. badges in public. Gabrielle’s project helped her community to better understand and respect service dogs, and she hopes to inspire them to volunteer with service dog organizations.

Gillian’s project focused on childhood literacy rates for young children whose first language is Spanish. She quickly realized there was a gap in classroom education for children who speak Spanish at home, but attend English-speaking public schools, which was resulting in low reading proficiencies in their native language and difficulties with English.

She created tools to help these children master both English and Spanish while learning to read.

Gabrielle provided resource packs to local elementary schools containing dual language audio books, CD players, and headphones.

Her resource packs can now be taken home, so that the students can practice both English and Spanish reading skills with their families, allowing them to build a strong literacy foundation for life.

Girl Scout Gold Award recipients are more likely to see themselves as leaders and to have had leadership experiences in volunteer activities, school, their communities, and politics.

2016 Recipients 21

Michaela Marie Myer

Kaylyn Rogers Norville

Emily Clare Orton

Cameron, Moore County Project: Born Beautiful Issue: Positive Self-Image

Tarboro, Edgecombe County Project: Information Boxes for Area Athletic Locations Issue: Awareness of Community Activities

Holly Springs, Wake County Project: Hands-On Robotics Fun to Aid STEM Education for Girls in the Community Issue: STEM Education

An avid athlete, Kaylyn found that there was a lack of communication of local athletic events within her community, as there is not a daily newspaper. To increase participation and encourage people to attend local games and matches as spectators, she built five informational boards throughout her town. Her boards featured the schedules for local schools, town parks, and recreation leagues and provided details about the different events. She also posted clippings from surrounding local newspapers to recognize community athletes and their accomplishments.

The boards will be maintained by Tarboro’s Parks and Recreation Director and Tarboro High School’s National Honor Society. Kaylyn’s project shows her dedication to community activities and passion for athletics.

Emily decided to create a fun and inclusive environment for girls interested in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) fields to help their skills develop and shine. She hosted a showcase tournament for local FIRST LEGO League robotics teams that was open to the public and featured FIRST LEGO League robot displays, high school robot displays, and project displays. Attendees were able to experiment with coding, prototyping, design, and project management. Through her event, Emily was able to show young girls in her community that robotics is an accessible field in which both sexes can hold professional roles and achieve success. In addition to her tournament, Emily created a website to aid those interested in hosting their own robotics events.

Wanting to help women boost their confidence, Michaela’s Take Action project focused on helping women identify and value their self worth. She believed that a lack of confidence can cause an excessive use of makeup, which has a negative effect on the planet through waste.

To encourage positive self-image and recycling of beauty products, Michaela planned and organized a Women’s Walk for Empowerment.

Women who attended did not wear makeup and could bring old makeup containers to recycle. Each woman wore a nametag on which they wrote their insecurities and a red bow around their finger to symbolize beauty and confidence.

Michaela’s project, Born Beautiful, empowered women to support each other and appreciate natural beauty.

It left a positive impact on the women themselves while benefitting the environment.

22 The Girl Scout Gold Award

Corena Rebecca Owens

Jessica May Pabst

Brooke Patrice Palmer

Pittsboro, Chatham County Project: The Language Library Issue: Foreign Language Fluency

Greenville, Pitt County Project: Control… Express…

Dance Issue: Bullying

Wake Forest, Wake County Project: Dreams to Stage Issue: Arts Education

To improve foreign language fluency and deepen cultural understanding among children, Corena designed a language library comprised of books in many languages for Chatham Charter School in Pittsboro. She received donations of over 250 books from community members and groups to stock the library.

With the help of her fellow students and community members, Corena constructed a bookcase to house the books, catalogued the books, and stocked the shelves. By increasing access to international reading materials, she hopes to spark an interest in different cultures and inspire students to study different languages. Her learning library is now being integrated into Chatham Charter School’s curriculum.

Inspired by her passion for dance, Jessica held a dance workshop through which she encouraged young members of the community to stand up to bullying, build self-esteem, and develop positive body images.

She taught basic techniques to build confidence, and explained why the children should use expressive techniques such as dance to release their feelings. In addition, she taught them how to stand up for themselves and others if they are subject or a witness to bullying.

Jessica created pamphlets discussing bullying and self-esteem, and advertised her workshop as a way to increase confidence.

Jessica’s project took a unique approach to stopping bullies while allowing the children to try something new.

Seeking to encourage teenagers to pursue dreams in performing arts, Brooke created Dreams to Stage, a video series. She started a channel on YouTube where she posted videos where she coached viewers on how to turn their dreams into organized goals.

Her channel contains four main videos to help people plan their performing arts goals, including “What is a Goal,” “Write it Down,” “Keeping Focus,” and “Acronyms”. In addition, she held one-on-one workshops, wrote a blog, and conducted interviews. Brooke recognized that many of her peers interested in pursuing performing arts are often disheartened by rejection and discouragement, and hopes that her videos will continue to inspire them to not give up.

2016 Recipients 23

In recognition of their achievements, Gold Awardees who join the armed services enter at one rank higher than other recruits.

24

The Girl Scout Gold Award

Elizabeth Dianne Palmer

Tejal Patwardhan

Wilmington, New Hanover County Project: Connecting Students to Their Schools—One Paintbrush at a Time Issue: Learning Environment Appreciation

Chapel Hill, Orange County Project: Identifying the Genetic Causes of Anemia of Aging Issue: Genetic Blood Disorder

After researching how a student’s connection to a learning environment can create positive and lasting academic results, Elizabeth decided to actively engage students at Castle Hayne Elementary School to assist her in painting two murals on the property. The students’ involvement gave them the opportunity to feel a sense of ownership by contributing their unique skills to improving the school’s environment. The project was designed with sustainability in mind as the artwork and personal photographs on both murals rotate on a regular basis, allowing future students to feel that same sense of connection to their school. Elizabeth created a film documenting her project and addressing the importance of communicating positive messages and connections through art.

With a passion for science and positive social change, Tejal focused on anemia of aging, a genetic blood disorder. For her project, she developed essential skills in computational biology, using high-resolution genetic mapping to target geneses and polymorphisms that cause anemia of aging. She presented her findings to the Jackson Laboratory scientists and summer students, wrote a scientific paper that summarizes her work, and hopes to create gene-targeted therapies of anemia of aging. In order to sustain her project, the Jackson Laboratory will be conducting further in-vivo verification of the genes. The lab also plans to publish her findings in a scientific journal. The end goal is for use of these genes in development of preventative screenings and potential gene therapy to help prevent and address anemia of aging.

Hannah Grace Phillips

Carmen Elise Prestemon

Kristi Nicole Reep

Hillsborough, Orange County Project: Horse Responsibility and Safety Issue: Safety Among Horses

Cary, Wake County Project: Cherished Memories Issue: Hospital Patient Comfort

Hamlet, Richmond County Project: Hand-Knitted Scarves for the Homeless Issue: Helping the Homeless

Concerned with a lack of safety precautions around horses, Hannah focused her Girl Scout Gold Award project on proper behavior on and around horses, specifically for children. To do so, she created a video on horse safety for Camp Chestnut Ridge, so that campers participating in equestrian activities can learn how to prevent accidents and injury. Her video focused on making campers more aware of the care that must be taken to address the needs of horses to ensure both fun and safety. Hannah presented her project at the camp’s open house to 480 attendees. Her project will have a lasting positive impact on the camp and improve safety around horses as they continue to show her video to future campers.

Recognizing that long-term hospital stays can take an emotional toll on children and their parents, Carmen sought to improve their experience by providing them with memory boxes. She gathered volunteers to help her paint 71 memory boxes to donate to the UNC Chapel Hill Children’s Hospital. These boxes are given to children so that they can store personal items such as pictures, toys, and other items to help relieve stress. The boxes could also be given to a family following the death of a child to help preserve the memory and spirit of their child.

To further improve their experience, she recruited her high school’s band to perform for the patients and their families.

In an effort to keep the homeless and the less fortunate warm during winter months, Kristi collected materials and knitted scarves to give out within the towns of Ellerbe, Rockingham, and Hamlet. She met with the Rockingham Knitting Club to learn more about knitting, and they donated 150 completed scarves to her project.

With donated yarn, Kristi was able to knit an additional 200 scarves by hand.

To help bring awareness to the homeless population in her area, she met with local county officials about the problem. They assisted her in identifying locations to hand out her scarves. Kristi also passed the scarves out at homeless shelters and soup kitchens. With the backing of Kristi’s hard work, many homeless people in Richmond County will now be more comfortable in the cold.

2016 Recipients 25

Christen Anne Rogers

Hannah Grace Sadel

Jennifer Savage

Wake Forest, Wake County Project: Pet Ownership Education Issue: Taking Care of Pets

Raleigh, Wake County Project: Cooking the College Way Issue: Healthy Eating Habits

Cary, Wake County Project: Healing with Music Issue: Musical Therapy

Inspired by her passion for animals, Christen sought to increase pet owner education prior to adoption and, in turn, decrease the number of animals mistreated or returned to shelters.

She created informational packets, a website, and a video to assist the Franklin County Animal Shelter in educating visitors interested in adopting. In addition, she helped them to lower the number of euthanized animals by increasing the amount of open space at the shelter for new animals to enter. Informational materials will continue to benefit the Franklin County Animal Shelter as they use the resources that she created to educate potential owners.

Addressing unhealthy eating habits amongst college students, Hannah decided to focus on the limited access to kitchen equipment and poor nutritional choices that young people are making. She created a blog and social media accounts through which she shared healthy recipes that could be easily made with few resources. She also posted instructional videos so that they were simple for her readers to recreate. Hannah shared her posts with local high schools and colleges in an attempt to decrease unhealthy weight gain and encourage a healthy and active lifestyle among students.

Hannah’s project was a great way for her peers to see that healthy living while away at college is still a possibility.

Focusing on assisting children who are differently-abled, Jennifer taught music therapy at a local preschool.

She developed musical activities that would help the children relax, develop confidence, and improve their cognitive motor skills. This engaged the children in social interaction, eye contact, movement, confidence, and speech. She hopes that her project will help the children to be more successful in school and allow them to build better relationships. Jennifer also created a blog to share her project with others and bring awareness to how music therapy can relieve stress for all children as well as people in general.

Her project inspired the school to continue to incorporate the techniques that she taught into their future activities.

26 The Girl Scout Gold Award

Virginia Leigh Savage

Alyssa Schoaff

Molly Shannon Seelinger

Whiteville, Columbus County Project: Swinging into Action Issue: Handicap Access

Apex, Wake County Project: Red Wolves of NC Coloring Book Issue: Endangerment Awareness

Raleigh, Wake County Project: Habitat for “Hoo”manity Issue: Habitat Loss

After realizing her community did not have a handicap accessible playground and the local PTA lacked the funds to complete a playground with features for children with disabilities, Virginia took action.

Virginia collected donations as well as acquired and constructed a handicap accessible swing and picnic tables. The new equipment allows disabled students to swing without assistance and easily access the picnic tables where they can sit with their friends. Virginia gave every child the opportunity to have fun on the playground and experience all of the activities it has to offer.

After learning about North Carolina’s endangered red wolf population, Alyssa devised a fun and creative way to promote their protection by developing a children’s coloring book.

Alyssa visited several elementary schools giving presentations about the wolves to second grade classes and then further engaged the children with her book. Alyssa graciously provided her coloring book and lesson plan to the schools, The Red Wolf Coalition, and many other organizations so that they could continue to be utilized as a teaching mechanism. Through her project, Alyssa was able to call children to action to protect red wolves while honing their creativity.

Molly’s project addressed the issue of habitat loss for Barred Owls.

Because of deforestation and other human impacts, there is limited space for the owls to nest and raise owlettes. Wanting to provide for the owls and lessen the problem in her community, she assembled five owl boxes for the Barred Owls to live and placed them around local parks. She also created an informational kiosk at the Jordan Lake State Recreation Area to inform visitors of the problems associated with Barred Owl habitat loss and to inspire them to help with the issue. Molly informed the community of the risk of habitat loss while making a difference.

2016 Recipients 27

Anja Mara Sheppard

Breanne Smith

Clarissa Grace Somers

Chapel Hill, Orange County Project: Books for Haiti Issue: Literacy

Wake Forest, Wake County Project: Happy Smiles Issue: Importance of Oral Hygiene

Bolivia, Brunswick County Project: Plant Power Issue: Environmental Education

Hoping to make an impact on a global scale, Anja focused on literacy among children living at the Yahve Jire Orphanage in Haiti. As part of her project, she wanted to encourage children to develop a love for reading and to continue their education outside of their academic schooling. Anja took action and collected textbook and book donations in both French and English to create a library of resources for the children.

She also built seven bookshelves to establish a library in the orphanage.

The books that Anja donated will allow the children to expand their knowledge, which could open up a plethora of opportunities for them in the future.

With the hope of becoming a pediatric dentist, Breanne addressed the issue of cavities among youth. She wanted to educate children on the importance of maintaining good oral health by eating right and developing healthy oral habits.

She worked with Raleigh Pediatric Dentistry to help educate herself on oral hygiene and spoke to young children through her community to help them understand the importance of a healthy mouth. Breanne presented her project to Wake County Schools and Girl Scout troops and provided gift bags with toothbrushes, toothpaste, and floss to encourage great oral hygiene amongst youth.

To inspire others to value the environment and begin gardening, Clarissa educated her community on plants and their impact on human history. She collaborated with the North Carolina Maritime Museum to create three educational gardens that gave visitors the opportunity to learn about how people have benefitted from gardening throughout time. Visitors can learn about her gardens and the history of gardening through pamphlets she created for the museum containing a planting and irrigation guide. Clarissa went above and beyond by designing an irrigation system to easily sustain her garden in the future. She hopes that museum visitors will take an interest in the environment and will want to recreate her garden themselves.

28 The Girl Scout Gold Award

Elaine Dorothea Taylor

Samantha Marie Thomas

Raleigh, Wake County Project: Brentwood Boys and Girls Club Gardening Program Issue: Healthy Living

Raleigh, Wake County Project: Puppet Theater Issue: Homelessness

Aiming to increase environmental education while encouraging healthy eating, Elaine established a gardening program at the Brentwood Boys and Girls Club. She taught the children how to grow food and be responsible for tending to plants. She provided lessons in planting seeds, removing weeds, watering, and harvesting. Her program taught the children about how eating fresh local produce is key to a healthy lifestyle and beneficial to the environment. The impact of Elaine’s dedication to her project was evident when the children were able to eat their harvested fruits and vegetables. She showed them that healthy eating is all the more rewarding when the food comes from a garden that they tended themselves.

Wanting to create more visibility around homelessness within her community, Samantha worked alongside the Raleigh Rescue Mission Child Development Center to help develop a better living environment for young children. Because children do not have much input when it comes to their living situation, she worked hard to provide something for them to enjoy while living at the center. Samantha created puppets and a puppet theater to help them be creative and expressive, and to play and have fun. Her Take Action project helped homeless children focus on being children and learning new activities.

The Girl Scout Gold Award is more than just a community service project. It requires organization, leadership, and networking skills.

2016 Recipients 29

Belonging to Girl Scouts has left unique, powerful, and lasting impressions on Girl Scout Gold Award recipients.

30 The Girl Scout Gold Award

Lauren Alyssa Wagner

Grace Munro Warner

Cary, Wake County Project: Tolerance Workshops Issue: Discrimination

Rocky Mount, Nash County Project: Pick, Taste, and Learn Garden at Down East Partnership for Children Issue: Healthy Living

Choosing to focus on discrimination against all types of people, Lauren set out to create workshops to help educate around the issue. She teamed up with a licensed therapist to create lessons for her workshops, including three different sections: interaction amongst the group, a lesson plan on how to tackle the issue, and an activity. With her workshops being such a success, she was able to present to all age groups and expand her reach as word of the program spread, influencing others to get involved.

Her Take Action Project will continue to help others as she shared lesson plans for her workshops with other organizations throughout her community.

Believing that everyone should have healthier eating options, Grace sought out ways to help provide low income families with access to free produce. With healthier foods often being more expensive, she collaborated with Down East Partnership for Children, a non-profit organization dedicated to the well-being of young families, to educate families on healthy eating and sustaining a garden. She then worked with those families to create a community garden at Discovery Park. Grace designed the garden for kids to explore healthy foods and named it the Pick, Taste, and Learn Garden. Because of her work, these families can make healthy meals without paying the high cost.

Morgan Paige Whithaus

Charlotte Rose Wilson

Ashlyn Paige Woodlief

Durham, Durham County Project: Supply Drive and Workshop for Camp Penuel East Issue: Need for Supplies

Raleigh, Wake County Project: Saving the Brown-Headed Nuthatches Issue: Wildlife Conservation

Oxford, Granville County Project: Charlie’s Lunch Boxes Issue: Hospital Patient Comfort

After discovering Camp Penuel East, a camp that provides its services free-of-charge to underprivileged children, was lacking in supplies, Morgan took action. Through her project, she hoped to enable the camp’s need for supplies and provide the children with a fun, safe, and well-supplied camp program. Her contributions to the organization were numerous including donations and delivering workshops. Additionally she arranged a drive which brought in 237 different supplies. Morgan hosted workshops for the attending female campers about developing and displaying good character and learning about self-value.

She furthered her impact by creating a binder with lesson plans for future counselors to use. Morgan’s commitment to sharing Girl Scout values such as confidence and character, along with aiding those in need shone through her Take Action Project.

With a passion to help wildlife within her community, Charlotte helped create awareness of the brown-headed nuthatch species. Her project consisted of public outreach to help educate people on the impact these species has on the environment as well as installing several nuthatch nest boxes throughout the community and neighborhood. She led a workshop and had an informational booth and display boards on the species at Lake Crabtree County Park with hopes of continuing to educate her community on the importance of this species has and decrease the decline of habitat loss. Charlotte’s project will continue to be sustained through the nest boxes located throughout the community and information board displayed during brown-headed nuthatches’ nesting season.

Having spent some time in the hospital as a child, Ashlyn knew first-hand how ill children could feel lonely and disconnected from the world. That’s why for her Girl ScoutGold Award Project she created care packages for children staying at Ronald McDonald House of Durham. To help comfort these children in a time of need, Ashlyn worked with churches in her area to collect donations to stock backpacks and lunchboxes with fun and useful items. Each care package contained a snack, toiletries, and couple of games or activities to provide entertainment.

After assembling and delivering the backpacks and lunchboxes, The Ronald McDonald House gave Ashlyn very positive feedback about her project, sharing that she accomplished her goal of brightening the days of the children who received packages. Her project will continue to be sustained through the churches who aided her in collecting donations.

2016 Recipients 31

2016 marked the 100th anniversary of the Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest and most prestigious achievement in Girl Scouting. Since 1916, girls have successfully answered the call to Go Gold, an act that indelibly marks them as accomplished members of their communities and the world.

On June 1, 2016, Girl Scouts – North Carolina Coastal Pines celebrated the anniversary of the Girl Scout Gold Award with a commemorative Centennial Celebration at the North Carolina Executive Mansion. The celebration, sponsored by BlueCross BlueShield of North Carolina, recognized the achievements of all recipients of this prestigious award, or its equivalent, who have made meaningful and sustainable change in their local communities and beyond, over the last 100 years.

32 The Girl Scout Gold Award

Jane S. Barringer Award Girl Scout Gold Award recipients are eligible to apply for the Jane S. Barringer Award, an award established to honor Mrs. Barringer, recognized for 50 years of membership and as an outstanding teen advisor. A group of her former Girl Scouts, along with Girl Scouts – North Carolina Coastal Pines, has instituted an award in her name to be given to an individual who embodies the principles and spirit “Mrs. B” works to instill.

Misty Crabtree Eastham Memorial Scholarship The Misty Crabtree Eastham Scholarship was established to honor the memory of lifelong Girl Scout Misty Crabtree Eastham, and provides scholarships for Gold Award recipients to help defray college expenses. As a girl in foster care who earned her Gold Scout Gold Award, Misty felt that Girl Scouting had a tremendous impact on her life and provided opportunities that she may never have had a chance to pursue. This scholarship embodies Misty’s sense of selflessness, generosity, drive, and determination.

For more information about these and other council-sponsored scholarships, please visit the council website at www.nccoastalpines.org.

2016 Recipients 33

Girl Scouts - North Carolina Coastal Pines

Our Counties Beaufort Bladen Brunswick Carteret Chatham Columbus Craven Cumberland Duplin

Durham Edgecombe Franklin Granville Greene Halifax Harnett Hoke Johnston

Jones Lee Lenoir Martin Moore Nash New Hanover Northampton Onslow

Orange Pamlico Pender Person Pitt Richmond Robeson Sampson Scotland

Vance Wake Warren Wayne Wilson

Board of Directors

Members

Girl Members

Jean Gordon Carter, Chair

Danielle Breslin

Kehinde Adediran

Bonnie Hancock, First Vice Chair

Wendy Burden

Baasima Frazier

Valerie Quiett, Second Vice Chair

Cheryl Burns

Megan Gale

Melissa Reed, Third Vice Chair

Linda Foreman

Ryanne Howard

Ann ‘Scottie’ Bryan, Fourth Vice Chair

Susan Garrity

Zara Mehta

James E. Peterson, Treasurer

Jenna Green

Ingrid Watts

Natalie Perkins, Secretary

Kristen Hess Manju Karkare

Lisa M. K. Jones Chief Executive Officer

Board Development Committee

Joyce Mitchell Adrian Reeder

Gold Award Committee

Marywalker Romanus

Jane Barringer

Annette Moore

Karine Stallings

Kristen Hess, Committee Chair

Sue Stevens

Alison DeCinti

Marie VanHeusen

Kristal Diaz-Rojas

Frank Westmeyer

Rebecca Daniels Carol Day Eileen Emer Dottie Gilbert

Deb Laughery

Emily Hayne

Joyce Mitchell

Jennifer Jones

Annette Moore

Cathy Klinc

Marywalker Romanus

Roxanne Manuel Sara Olson Robin Simonton Angie Taylor Kristin Vickery Trisha Wilson Lori Winkelstein Staff Liaison: Eileen Miller