Three Jericho/Syosset Girl Scouts Awarded Highest Honor

JERICHO/SYOSSET, NY (June 30, 2016)— The Girl Scouts of Nassau County recently distributed 101 Gold Awardsduring a ceremony hosted by the United States Merchant Marine Academy. Chloe Van Dorn, Catherine Lerose and Julia Naldjian were among the 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. The Girl Scouts 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 girls 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:

Chloe’s project, “The Importance of Sleep for Teenagers,” raised awareness about the negative effects of insufficient sleep among teens. Sleep-deprived teens do not function at their highest potential. Chloe conducted workshops for middle school and high school students, and designed and distributed a brochure to students in an effort to educate others on this important topic.

Catherine’s Gold Award project, “Lose the Lice—Block the Bug! A Lice Awareness Project,” aimed to educate the public on lice awareness. Catherine worked with Head Start in Huntington to construct new cubbies for children to protect their belongings from traveling lice. The Gold Award winner also created brochures for adults on lice prevention, as well as a story book for children on what to do to be lice free.

Julia, aware of the poor communication between teachers, administration and parents, was inspired to create her project, “Holy Martyrs Armenian Language School E-Newsletter.” She noticed that handing out paper newsletters or notes was ineffective. Not all parents/ guardians were getting the information they needed. With the goal of improving communication between the school and the families of the students, she created an online E-Newsletter which allowed students, parents and teachers to be updated through one email. All parents had the opportunity to sign up for the E-Newsletter, which featured updates on upcoming events, announcements or curriculum changes/updates. Teaming up with the school board, Julia created an E-Newsletter that will be maintained and improved each year to assure maximum communication between parents and the school.

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.