Garden City Girl Scouts Awarded Highest Honor

GARDEN CITY, NY (July 9, 2018)—Girl Scouts of Nassau County recently hosted its annual Gold Award ceremony at Adelphi University. During the event, more than 70 local Girl Scouts earned their Gold Awards, including Amanda DeCrescito, Jessica Pedone and Chloe Rogers of Garden City. 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.

“These young women are among an exclusive group of leaders who have earned the highest honor a Girl Scout can earn. I commend each and every one of them for the countless hours they have spent dedicated to their project—not only to empower and better themselves, but to make the world a better place,” said Rande Bynum Chief Executive Officer, Girl Scouts of Nassau County. “Gold Award projects have positively impacted girls’ lives, their communities and the world for over one hundred years.”

For her project, “DUI is 100% Preventable,” Amanda educated children and young teenagers about the dangers of impaired driving. Amanda held informational sessions in her community and on social media to educate attendees about how to determine if a driver is impaired and ways to prevent that person from driving. To get her peers involved, she held a poster contest in which participants could submit flyers, posters, and graphics related to ways to prevent DUIs. All of Amanda’s work and the posters submitted can be found on her social media page, and CDMS Foundation has agreed to have a participation table for DUI awareness at every event.

Amanda is a recent graduate of Kellenberg Memorial High School where she was a peer counselor, member of her school’s chorus, and a member of the mock trial team. She will be attending Manhattan College in the fall. Her fondest Girl Scout memory is taking a trip to Rocking Horse Ranch where she got to spend time with her troop and family.

Jessica used her project, “Art4All,” to develop art classes for special needs adults and educate the community on their importance. She created various art classes as well as educated attendees and their families on the cognitive development, improved motor skills, and stress relieving benefits that art can bring. Jessica went to several group homes to hold workshops with the residents and helped guide them through various art projects. She created an instructional pamphlet and equipped local group homes with art supplies so the residents can continue to express their creativity for years to come.

A recent graduate of Garden City High School, Jessica was a member of the varsity swim team and secretary of the National Honor Society. Jessica was also an active volunteer at the Church of St. Anne spending time working in the respite care and faith formation programs. She will be attending College of William and Mary in the fall. Her fondest Girl Scout memory was hosting ice cream socials with her troop.

Chloe created her project, “ChildCare 4 CancerCare,” to help make the lives of families affected by cancer a little less stressful. Chloe is a leukemia and bone marrow transplant survivor and she knows how difficult it can be for parents to find proper and affordable child care, so she created a free babysitting service. Chloe formed a team of volunteers who served and still serve as babysitters to families affected by cancer. With the help of her high school and local church, Chloe was able to recruit members and spread the word about the service.

A rising senior at Garden City High School, Chloe is a peer educator and member of the National Honor Society. Chloe’s fondest Girl Scout memory was attending her Silver Award ceremony.

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 Scout Council before embarking on her project. The Girl Scout presents her final conclusions as the last step of the journey.

Lifelong value comes with having earned a Gold Award. According to the Girl Scout Research Institute, Gold Award Girl Scouts 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.

We’re the Girl Scouts of Nassau County: We’re 23,000 strong – 17,900 girls and 5,000 adults who believe in the power of every G.I.R.L. (Go-getter, Innovator, Risk-taker, Leader)™ from Nassau County to change the world. Our extraordinary journey began more than 100 years ago with the original G.I.R.L., Juliette Gordon “Daisy” Low. On March 12, 1912, in Savannah, Georgia, she organized the very first Girl Scout Troop, and every year since we’ve honored her vision and legacy, building girls of courage, confidence, and character who make the world a better place. We’re the preeminent leadership development organization for girls. And with programs in Nassau County, across Long Island and throughout the United States and across the globe, Girl Scouts offers every girl a chance to practice a lifetime of leadership, adventure, and success.

We’re the Girl Scouts. To volunteer, reconnect, donate or join, visit www.gsnc.org or contact Donna Rivera-Downey at 516 741-2550.