Plainedge Girl Scouts Awarded Highest Honor

PLAINEDGE, NY (June 30, 2016)— The Girl Scouts of Nassau County recently distributed 101 Gold Awards during a ceremony hosted by the United States Merchant Marine Academy. Reanna Sacks, Marina Sapeta and Lauren Szalay of Plainedge were among awardees. Now in its hundredth year, 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. Each girl spent more than 80 hours over the past year planning, executing and presenting the results of her project, which aimed to make the world a better place for others As well as herself.

“We are extremely proud to celebrate the achievement of over 100 local young women earning their Girl Scout Gold Award during its 100th year,” said Donna Ceravolo, Executive Director and CEO of the Girl Scouts of Nassau County. “On average, only five percent of eligible Girl Scouts successfully earn the Gold Award, making Lauren, Marina and Reanna part of an exclusive group of women with the tools to become leaders in the 21st century.”

Gold Award projects have positively impacted girls’ lives, their communities and the world for 100 years. Approximately 1 million Girl Scout alumnae have developed Gold Award projects that addressed local or global issues. After identifying an area of interest, a successful Gold Award recipient performs hours of research and prepares a project proposal to be submitted for feedback and approval to the Girl Scouts Council before embarking on her project. The Girl Scout presents her final conclusions as the last step of the journey.

The three recipients each tackled a project that held a deep significance to them. Their projects are described below:

Reanna Sacks based her Gold Award Project, “Less Stress About the College Process,” on something she was personally facing—the college admissions and loan process. Because of lack of knowledge, many students miss out on so many opportunities such as scholarships, free applications, or even fighting for credits at their chosen schools. With the hope of preparing herself and others for college, she developed a series of events that covered a variety of topics from how to organize the application process, to the more complicated topic of financing it all. To ensure that her project continues to help others, Reanna created social media accounts for her project which showcases current articles and allows for interaction and Q&A amongst community members.

Marina’s focus on the importance of play for all children inspired her to create her project, “A Park for All.” After noticing that the playgrounds in her town of Massapequa did not offer any equipment for wheelchair-bound children, Marina decided to educate her community on the equipment available to make the playgrounds an all-inclusive space for children. She teamed up with the parks department educating them on the wheelchair accessible playground equipment along with the companies that make them. To reach out to her community and spread the word about her project, Marina delivered an educational PowerPoint at the Joseph Saldino’s Marine Expo. With her hard work and dedication, the town of Massapequa installed a wheelchair accessible swing on their local playground and Marina hopes this will inspire other towns to give all children a chance to play.

An environmentally conscious Lauren Szalay wanted to help restore Long Island to its natural beauty through her project “Bringing Long Island Back to Its Roots with Native Plants.” After Hurricane Irene and Super Storm Sandy destroyed a great deal of Long Island’s natural habitat and wild life, Lauren wanted to create a native plant garden with plants indigenous to Long Island. She used the garden as an educational tool to teach the importance of these plants to sustain the environment. The garden is housed at the Nassau BOCES outdoor learning center at the Brookville Science Center. Students that visit the Center will learn why native plants are beneficial to the local environment whether they serve as food for animals or as a barrier to the elements.

Lifelong value comes with having earned a Gold Award. According to the Girl Scout Research Institute, Gold Award recipients display more positive life outcomes pertaining to sense of self, life, satisfaction, leadership, life success, community service and civic engagement. Recipients of the award who enlist in the U.S. Armed Forces may receive advanced rank for their achievements and can receive scholarships or other recognition from most colleges or universities.

Notable Gold Award recipients include Jan Hopkins, CNN financial news anchor, and Betsy Boze, Senior Fellow at American Association of State Colleges and Universities and President at Kent State University Stark.

We’re the Girl Scouts of Nassau County: We’re 23,000 strong – 23,000 girls and adults who believe every girl from Nassau County can change the world. It began over 100 years ago with one woman, Juliette Gordon “Daisy” Low, who believed in the power of every girl. Today, we continue her vision of building girls of courage, confidence, and character who make the world a better place by helping them discover their inner strength, passion and talents. And with programs in Nassau County, across Long Island and throughout the United States, there’s a chance for every girl to do something amazing. We’re the Girl Scouts. To volunteer, reconnect, donate or join, visit www.gsnc.org or contact Donna Rivera-Downey at 516 741-2550.