Hempstead Girl Scouts Awarded Highest Honor

HEMPSTEAD, 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 Kadeesha Cox and Ariana Holness of Hempstead. 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.”

The Gold Award Girl Scouts each tackled a project that held a deep significance to them. Their projects are described below.

Looking at her community, Kadeesha discovered there were safety and environmental issues that needed to be addressed. “Project Prevention” came to life as she advocated for correct stop signs and added trash receptacles throughout her community. Kadeesha partnered with the Town of Hempstead to enact local legislation to get these items in place. She also created online petitions to gather community support and inspired others to act on important issues in the community. “Project Prevention” is still on-going, and once the signs and trash receptacles are placed, the Sanitation Department has plans in place for upkeep of these items.

Kadeesha is a rising sophomore at Farmingdale State College where she is studying Business Management and Administration. A graduate of Roosevelt High School, Kadeesha was an active member in student government and a varsity athlete on the basketball and tennis teams. Her favorite Girl Scout memory is spending time with her troop at Camp Blue Bay.

For her project, “InsideOut,” Ariana wanted to help address the issue of low self-esteem in young women. Through her project, Ariana helped boost her followers’ self-esteem by posting daily words of encouragement on her project’s Facebook and Instagram pages. In addition, Ariana held several workshops to help young girls find ways to feel confident and help them develop positive body image ideals. The materials used in the presentations have been passed on to her high school choir director who will implement positive body image lessons into the etiquette curriculum.

Ariana will be a sophomore at SUNY Albany in the fall. Ariana graduated from Uniondale High School, where she was a member of her school’s show choir, volleyball team, and Athletes Helping Athletes club. Her fondest Girl Scout memories are camping with her troop at Camp Blue Bay and her troop’s trip to the Brooklyn Museum.

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.