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Youth
April 16 - May 6, 2016
27
These Chandler Girl Scouts are golden BY ALISON BAILIN BATZ
This year, the Girl Scouts–Arizona Cactus-Pine Council named five Chandler girls—Reeti Banerjee, Ruchi Banerjee, Katelyn Boisvert, Rebecca Jernigan and Hannah Stevenson—who have been honored with the highest award in Girl Scouting: the Gold Award. “One of the most impactful parts of Girl Scouting is earning the Girl Scout Gold Award,” said Tamara Woodbury, CEO of Girl Scouts–Arizona CactusPine Council. “This prestigious award represents the highest achievement in Girl Scouting and challenges girls ages 14 to 17 to initiate meaningful, sustainable change locally, nationally, or globally through unique ‘Take Action’ projects of their own creation.” According to Woodbury, 2016 is meaningful to the Girl Scouts as they are celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Gold Award. Earning the Gold Award is somewhat comparable to the Boy Scouts’ Eagle Scout. While both achievements require developing and completing a service project, Girl Scouts must create a project that is sustainable and continues to give back to the community long after she moves on. Overall, the process usually takes 18 to 24 months and often involves seeking in-kind donations and recruiting volunteers. Others recognize the value of the Gold Award, too. Some universities and colleges offer scholarships to award recipients and girls who enlist in the U.S. armed forces may receive advanced rank in recognition of their achievements.
“Empowering girls to lead is one of the greatest investments we can make,” said Woodbury. “When women adopt leadership roles, they contribute a unique set of skills, ideas and life experiences that enrich and strengthen communities. Girl Scouts, and the Gold Award specifically, gives girls the support and guidance they need as they step into impactful leadership roles.” For many of these girls, this award is the culmination of more than 10 years in the Girl Scouts. Here is a snapshot of the honorees’ projects: Reeti Banerjee: oral health education With hopes of one day becoming a dentist, Reeti’s mission was to educate young children about the damaging effects of poor dental hygiene. Reeti researched the topic, and with a team of volunteers gave eight presentations, resulting in approximately 300 children receiving information and training on dental care. Ruchi Banerjee: socioeconomic consequences of teen pregnancy Ruchi’s Gold Award focused on educating fellow students about the socioeconomic consequences of teen pregnancy, including health challenges, low income and limited career opportunities. Through the use of informational posters and announcements over the intercom at five high schools, Ruchi was able to reach more than 11,000 students.
Five Chandler girls were among the many honored as Gold Award winners by the Girl Scouts-Arizona Cactus-Pine Council. Submitted photo Katelyn Boisvert: addressing the plight of Monarch butterflies Katelyn’s Gold Award addresses the conservation of Monarchs and pollinators of all kinds, while also preserving biodiversity, promoting community awareness, and encouraging citizen involvement. With the help of 50 volunteers, she constructed a Monarch butterfly waystation and pollinator garden at Chandler Preparatory Academy. Rebecca Jernigan: dogs helping people Rebecca’s mission was to strengthen the connection between humans and dogs. She held training sessions for junior dog trainers and made the training information widely available by creating
a website. There have been more than 70,000 hits on her website. To connect junior trainers with trainers worldwide, she created a Facebook group, which has grown to 115 members. Hannah Stevenson: PHS girls volleyball website development Despite the success of Hannah’s high school volleyball team, there was a lack of support from fellow classmates. Hannah focused on increasing support of the women’s volleyball team by improving communication. To do this, she created a website for her team, developed its format and works year-round to keep the content updated.