Rockville Centre Girl Scouts Awarded Highest Honor

Rockville Centre, 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. Deandra Denton, Emily Edwards, Alexandra Kosakoff, Brooke Williams and Kyra Wills-Umdenstock of Rockville Centre 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 these individuals part of an exclusive group of women with the tools to become leaders in the 21stcentury.”

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

The well-being of her community was the driving force behind Deandra’sproject, “Stop then Go!” She recognized the need for a stop light at the intersection of Long Beach Road and Weir Street in Hempstead, a dangerous location with many automobile and pedestrian accidents. She spent hours collecting signatures via online petitions and door-to-door visits to her neighbors to garner the support and advocate for the installation of a traffic light. Deandra will continue to advocate for her mission, and has raised awareness with her community, County Executive, the Commissioner of the Nassau County Public Works department, Nassau County Legislators, the Mayor of the Village of North Hempstead, and the Director of the Public Works Department for the Village.

Emily’s Gold Award Project, “Dance Empowering Girls,” addressed the importance of building self-confidence. Emily researched how body image impacts self-image and used her talent and skill to help build self-esteem through dance. Emily provided many hours of dance instruction that culminated in a performance. The program will be continued by the volunteers that assisted Emily with her project.

Lack of community awareness about childhood cancer led to Alexandra’s project “For the Kids Club.” As a result of her summer research project at Brown University, Alexandra set out to educate her community on the prevalence of childhood cancer and offer them volunteer opportunities to make a difference.

Brooke’s “Ballerina in a Box” Dance Therapy Program, incorporated dance and movement into an existing music therapy program at the Cancer Center for Kids at Winthrop University Hospital. Studies show that dance and movement significantly boost the healing process. Brooke created a program that was so well received that the Cancer Center has committed to add Brooke’s program as a form of therapy for children.

The focus of Kyra’s Gold Award project, “Design and Technology Career Day and Workshops,” was to educate girls from ages 9 to 16 about careers in the field of technology. Kyra utilized the computer lab at her school to raise awareness and interest among girls in the male dominated field of technology.

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.orgor contact Donna Rivera-Downey at 516 741-2550.