Mission Viejo Girl Earns Esteemed Girl Scout Gold Award

Irvine, California (January 16, 2019) -- Girl Scouts builds girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place. The Girl Scout Gold Award, only open to Girl Scouts in high school (grades 9-12), is the highest and most prestigious award in the world for girls and the most difficult to earn. Today, Girl Scouts of Orange County recognizes a Mission Viejo Girl Scout who earned the Girl Scout Gold Award.

Through the Girl Scout Gold Award, Girl Scouts engage in a rigorous process that calls for leadership at the highest level, as girls tackle issues they are passionate about. Girl Scouts typically spend one to two years on their Girl Scout Gold Award project, which involves taking action on a local or global issue (such as poverty, education, or the environment) and results in long-term, sustainable change.

Girl Scouts who earn the Girl Scout Gold Award distinguish themselves in the college admission process and receive scholarships from colleges and universities across the country, in addition to immediately rising one rank in any branch of the U.S. military.

Over the years, nearly 3,000 Orange County Girl Scouts have earned the Girl Scout Gold Award. 107 Orange County girls joined this sisterhood of Gold Award Girl Scouts during the 2018 membership year, including Mission Viejo Girl Scout Aubrey Mills. Girl Scouts of Orange County is proud to celebrate her leadership, dedication, initiative, and community problem-solving.

Aubrey Mills – Troop 375 – Mission Viejo – 2018 Gold Award Girl Scout

Gold Award Girl Scout Aubrey Mills with turtle pillows created in conjunction with her Arthritis Awareness Fair. The pillows were given to children at the Painted Turtle Camp, which serves children with serious medical conditions.

Project Title: Arthritis Awareness

Because of her own personal experience with Juvenile Arthritis, Aubrey was inspired to help others. She partnered with the Arthritis Foundation to help educate people about the disease, and held an Arthritis Awareness Fair in her home city of Mission Viejo. Guests with arthritis learned about valuable resources, while guests without arthritis gained understanding about Juvenile Arthritis and how to support those who do have the disease.

The event, which drew people from all over Southern California, was hosted by Aubrey and featured a petting zoo, live music, arts and crafts, and Olympic soccer Gold Medalist Joy Fawcett - who has Rheumatoid Arthritis. Guest speakers included a rheumatologist, physical therapists, and a youth who suffers from Juvenile Arthritis.

As part of the event Aubrey coordinated the creation of 150 turtle pillows to benefit campers at Painted Turtle camp, which serves children with serious medical conditions (and their families). Attendees at the Arthritis Awareness fair stuffed pre-made turtles, which were then finished and delivered to the camp’s office in Santa Monica.

Aubrey also started an Arthritis Awareness club at her church, which created over 1200 craft bags for children in the hospital, and has continued to work with her 4H club and friends to assemble additional craft bags that will be given to Painted Turtle’s outpost program - for distribution to hospitals in California.

“As I planned and hosted my Arthritis Awareness Fair and led the club that I created, I learned how to be an advocate for myself and others. I realized that I have a passion for spreading awareness about the condition that I have lived with for nine years. I learned how to take something that is a challenge in my life and turn it into something positive that can help myself and others.”

Girl Scouts of Orange County CEO Vikki Shepp shared: "The Girl Scout Gold Award represents the pinnacle of achievement in Girl Scouting. We are so proud of what this young woman has accomplished. She is a community problem-solver, who has created meaningful change through her sustainable and measurable “Take Action” project. Aubrey has changed our world forever and for better, and she is poised to continue creating groundbreaking solutions long into the future.”

Girl Scouts has been preparing girls for a lifetime of leadership for over 100 years. According to the Girl Scout Research Institute’s (GSRI’s) report, The Power of the Girl Scout Gold Award: Excellence in Leadership and Life, 90 percent of Girl Scouts surveyed not only attributed their success in life to Girl Scouts, but they also said they wouldn’t have had access to the same experiences anywhere else. Furthermore, Gold Award Girl Scouts far surpass non-Girl Scout alum when it comes to seeing themselves as leaders, providing service to others through volunteerism, and having positive attitudes about themselves and the lives they lead.

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We are Girl Scouts of Orange County. We are 33,000 strong—nearly 20,000 girls and 13,000 adults who believe in the power of every G.I.R.L. (Go-getter, Innovator, Risk-taker, Leader)™ to change the world. With programs in every zip code in Orange County, Girl Scouts offers every girl opportunities to practice a lifetime of leadership, adventure, and success. To volunteer, reconnect, donate, or join, visit girlscoutsoc.org.