Local Girl Scout Achieves Gold Award with 95-Hour Valley Humane Society Project

On October 1, 2014, Amador Valley High School Sophomore Nagisa Smalheiser (Troop #31324, Crossroads Service Unit) achieved her Girl Scout Gold Award—the highest honor in Girl Scouts. She has been active with the Girl Scouts since Kindergarten. Her project involved planning and building a “cat playground” of wall-mounted boxes and shelves for Pleasanton’s Valley Humane Society (VHS) cats to play on. The goal of the project was to help make cats of all ages more active and “adoptable” to VHS visitors.

Gold Awards require a minimum of 80 hours of community service, and to complete her award, Ms. Smalheiser took 95 hours over four months of planning, designing, coordinating, building and installing. She worked with local volunteers, and secured and managed donated supplies from Sherwin Williams and a local lumberyard.

When asked about her motivations for this project, she noted: “I wanted to help the community while doing what I love--improving the environment for abandoned animals. I hope to raise awareness about no-kill shelters like VHS and inspire others to make a difference in the community.”

The idea of Girl Scout Gold Awards began in 1916, as the “best and brightest” undertook projects that improved their communities, and the world. The Gold Award has inspired girls around the globe to find the greatness inside themselves and to share their ideas and passions with their communities.