Babylon, NY—The Girl Scouts of Suffolk County recently celebrated local Girl Scouts who earned the prestigious Girl Scout Gold Award, including 3 members of North Babylon Service Unit 616 and Copiague Service Unit 620. The awards were presented during the 2023 Gold Award Dinner, which was held at The Inn & Spa at East Wind and featured a keynote address by Rebecca Sanin, President and CEO of the Health and Welfare Council of Long Island. The Gold Award program recognizes the power and dedication shared by an elite group of young women who earn the highest honor a Girl Scout can achieve. The members of North Babylon Service Unit 616 and Copiague Service Unit 620 who achieved Gold Awards this year were Ashley Beck, Daniela Schierle and Anne Carole Mahanken.
“The Gold Award is the highest distinction a young woman can earn in Girl Scouting and is earned by less than 6% of Girl Scouts annually,” said Tammy Severino, GSSC’s President & CEO. “Earning this award takes an extreme amount of dedication, hard-work and commitment from each of the girls. We are incredibly proud to celebrate this distinguished class of young women and the great efforts they have made for their communities.”
The Gold Award Girl Scouts each tackled a project that held a deep significance to them. To be eligible for a Gold Award, each recipient must complete two Senior or Ambassador Journeys, or their Girl Scout Silver Award before beginning their Gold Award project. To meet the Girl Scout Gold Award requirements, each candidate must complete at least 80 hours toward their project.
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Girls in grades 9-12 begin their Gold Award journey by identifying a civic or social issue they care about. Next, a Girl Scout builds a team to support her project with the mission to create a positive impact in her community by addressing an issue she feels passionate about. Through the process, Gold Award Girl Scouts build invaluable problem-solving, organizational, and leadership skills, while educating and inspiring others.
Ashley Beck built Cold Frames in her community's garden which extended availability of fresh food.
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Daniela Schierle installed new fencing around the North Babylon Food Pantry’s Garden to protect the area and to increase harvest for the community.
Anne Carole Mahanken created inspirational sayings out of permanent vinyl and displayed them in the girls bathrooms at her high school.
To learn more about the Girl Scouts of Suffolk County or the Gold Award, visit: https://www.gssc.us/
About Girl Scouts of Suffolk County: The Girl Scouts of Suffolk County is one of the largest youth-serving agencies on Long Island, serving over 15,000 members dedicated to the mission of building girls of courage, confidence, and character who make the world a better place. For more information about Girl Scouts of Suffolk County, please call (631) 543-6622 or visit www.gssc.us.
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