Girl Scouts of Connecticut Honor 86 Girl Scouts with Gold Award

Elaine M. Ferretti of Beacon Falls has received the Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest award a girl can earn in Girl Scouting.

Celebrating its 100th Anniversary this year, the Girl Scout Gold Award requires Girl Scouts grades nine through 12 to spend at least 80 hours researching issues, assessing community needs and resources, building a team, and making a sustainable impact in the community. A Gold Award recipient’s accomplishments reflect leadership and citizenship skills that set her apart as a community leader. Nationally, only 6 percent of older Girl Scouts earn the Gold Award.

Elaine built a wooden kiosk on front of Matthies Park containing a sustainable map of the landmarks and trails to help make the park more accessible to the public and keeping the park’s natural beauty. The kiosk also included a bulletin area for any town news or upcoming events, and a number of brochures detailing the history of Matthies Park. Elaine’s kiosk was built to sustain any weather conditions and the brochures and bulletin area will continue to be updated and restocked for the community. Emily is currently a student at Rochester Institute of Technology and is pursuing a career in business management.

“Since 1916, approximately one million Girl Scouts have made a sustainable impact in their communities,” said Mary Barneby, CEO of Girl Scouts of Connecticut. “We are so thrilled to honor a record number of girls this year and we are excited to see how many more incredible young women will continue to change the world in the next 100 years!”

For more information about the Gold Award or how to become a Gold Award volunteer or mentor, visit http://www.gsofct.org/pages/goldaward.php.