2008 Gold Awards

The Girl Scout Gold Award is the highest award that Girl Scouts ages 14-18 may earn. A national award with the highest of standards, it represents a girl’s time, leadership, creativity and effort contributed to making her community a better place.

A young woman who has earned the Girl Scout Gold Award has become a community leader. Her accomplishments reflect the leadership and citizenship skills that set her apart. Only 3% of Girl Scouts nationwide earn this prestigious award by completing community service projects and rigorous reviews over the course of many months.

Colleges, universities, employers, government agencies and the military recognize the hard work and skills required to earn the Girl Scout Gold Award. Earning the award increases a girl’s marketability to these institutions and helps her prepare for a successful future.

Jenna A.
Bear, DE

“To minimize the odds, you should not let any obstacles stand in your way!”

To earn her Girl Scout Gold Award, Jenna created and implemented a web page on MySpace.com to inform and educate teens about the risks of diabetes. Because the site was set up on MySpace, future Girl Scouts of Jenna’s Troop 1096 can continue to update the page and provide information about diabetes risks and prevention to teens for years to come.


Sarah B.
Newark, DE

“To be yourself is all that you can do.”
- Audioslave

Sarah earned her Girl Scout Gold Award by coordinating with four other girls from her troop to complete a pond restoration project. The girls built benches and cleared a walking path around the pond, resulting in a project that the whole community can enjoy.


Annamarie B.
Oceanview, DE

“Life is a succession of moments. To live each one is to succeed.” - Corita Kent

Annamarie designed and presented a program called Healthy/Active Kids as her project to earn her Girl Scout Gold Award. The program consisted of activities that challenged kids in 4th grade to eat healthy foods and get at least 30 minutes of exercise a day, and rewarded those who completed healthy activities with certificates.


Kiarra C.
Newark, DE

“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” - Matthew 5:16

For her Girl Scout Gold Award Project, Kiarra teamed up with a fellow Girl Scout to create a MySpace webpage called “Diabetes 411.” The page consists of helpful facts, statistics, and general information about diabetes to help educate the public. This helpful tool reaches a wide range of internet users, and is working to increase knowledge and awareness about diabetes especially among teens.


Emily C.
Landenberg, PA

“Courage is the price that life exacts for granting peace.”
- Amelia Earhart

Emily worked on a project to provide emotional support and comfort for homeless children for her Girl Scout Gold Award. Her troop made blankets that can fold up into a pillow, and be carried around as a backpack. The girls also put a letter of comfort and a Beanie Baby in the blanket. Emily was also in charge of Public Relations, and was responsible for communicating with the public and the shelter concerning the project.


Kristen C.
Wilmington, DE

To earn her Girl Scout Gold Award, Kristen took younger Girl Scouts on a camping trip to teach them about safety and fun in the wilderness. While teaching the girls how to set up a tent and cook over a fire, Kristen taught them the importance of preserving the wilderness, and how to identify different types of plants.


Clair C.
Wilmington, DE

To earn her Girl Scout Gold Award, Clair, along with her troop, sewed quilts and presented them to homeless children. Clair and her troop were inspired to reach out to these children while on a visit to the Mary Mother of Hope homeless shelter to complete a badge.


Sarah D.
Hockessin, DE

For her Girl Scout Gold Award project, Sarah worked with her troop to create a project called “Comfees from the Heart.” She helped make blankets that can be folded into pillows. These blankets were given to the homeless children in her region. Sarah and her troop wanted to let the children know that someone is thinking about them, and give them something to keep them warm and comfortable.


Angela F.
Newark, DE

“No guts, no glory.”

Angela, for her Girl Scout Gold Award, helped restore and improve the Judge Morris Estate Park. Angela and her fellow Girl Scouts cleared a path around the pond, constructed benches and a bridge, and cleaned the surrounding area. Her efforts have made the park more enjoyable and accessible to the public.


Kristin G.
Newark, DE

Kristin’s Girl Scout Gold Award project involved the restoration of the pond area at the Judge Morris Estate Park. Kristin and her group chose to break the mold and put in the hard labor of building benches, constructing a bridge, and clearing pathways. Thanks to their efforts, the pond is now enjoyed daily by the community, giving people more access to the pond, and providing recreational rest stops.


Theresa G.
Newark, DE

“No one can do everything, but everyone can do something.”

Theresa chose to help those at the Sterck School for the Deaf for her Girl Scout Gold Award Project. Teaming up with fellow Girl Scout Meghan Smith, Theresa first contacted Personal Ponies, which connects ponies to people with special needs. The girls then created an educational activity packet designed to teach the kids about Shetland Ponies. Three ponies were brought to the Sterck School, where the children were able to play and interact with them.


Kathleen H.
Wilmington, DE

“Do your own bit of saving, and if you drown, at least die knowing you were headed for shore.” - Ray Bradbury

Kathleen earned her Girl Scout Gold Award by participating in creating “comfees” for homeless children with her fellow Girl Scouts.
These “comfees,” or quilts, can be folded into a pillow. Kathleen was inspired to do this project after completing her “Home Is Where the Heart Is” badge. She wanted to give back to the community, and give the children something that they can always keep with them for comfort and warmth.


Eve H.
Hebron, MD

After spending her 8th grade school year in Argentina, Eve wanted to help give foreign students more opportunities to become involved in school. Eve realized how helpful a booklet of activities in various languages would be to students, so to earn her Girl Scout Gold Award, she created a booklet detailing extracurricular activities in English, Spanish, and Korean for her school.


Jazmin J.
Claymont, DE

“If someone speaks badly of you, live so that no one believes it.”

For her Girl Scout Gold Award Project, Jazmin wanted to educate African-Americans on the importance of bone marrow donations to increase the number of donors on the registry. By reaching out to her community, Jazmin educated the public about the importance of bone marrow donations, and taught people that making a donation really can save a life. A total of 23 names were added to the registry as a result of Jazmin’s efforts.


Kirstyn K.
Newark, DE

“Cherish your visions and your dreams, as they are the children of your soul; the blueprints of your ultimate achievements.”
- Napoleon Hill

Kirstyn cleaned and painted several areas within the Rectory of St. Peter’s Cathedral Church for her Girl Scout Gold Award. Kirstyn’s project benefits both the community and the church by making the Rectory more presentable. She hopes that money that would have been used for the restoration can now go towards scholarships for St. Peter’s students and other purposes.


Rachel K.
Newark, DE

To earn her Girl Scout Gold Award, Rachel teamed up with a fellow Girl Scout to bring entertainment and enjoyment to hospital patients. Rachel collected movies, books, audio books and games and donated them to the Barnes Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri. Patients enthusiastically received the donations as a welcome distraction from their hospital stay.


Melissa K.
Wilmington, DE

Melissa sewed pajama outfits and collected hygiene items for children at her local shelter in order to earn her Girl Scout Gold Award. She realized the need for children who come to stay in the shelters to have sleepwear and personal care items, and supplied that need.


Iulia K.
Wilmington, DE

To earn her Girl Scout Gold Award, Iulia teamed up with other Girl Scouts and made quilts for homeless children. The quilts could be folded up and turned into pillows. Iulia wanted to give the children something that would keep them warm and comfortable during the winter and hard times. She was responsible for acquiring sewing machines and other items to make the quilts, setting up sewing lessons and other scheduling logistics.


Erin L.
New Castle, DE

“The flower that blooms in adversity is the rarest and most beautiful of all.”

Erin’s Girl Scout Gold Award Project focused on getting elementary school-aged girls excited about math, science and engineering, and the promising futures available to them through successful careers in these areas. Erin visited a day camp at Southbridge Neighborhood House and presented the girls with challenges that connected academic subjects to real-life applications and introduced them to robotics. Erin went a step further, starting a pilot program for girls to get them involved in the FIRST Lego League and Robotics Competition to discover math, science and engineering through fun, hands-on projects.


Andrea M.
Newark, DE

“Do or do not, there is no try.”

Andrea collaborated with a fellow Girl Scout to donate 422 items to the Barnes Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri, where Andrea’s aunt was treated. Realizing a need for entertainment for long term patients, Andrea sent items, including books, books on tape, DVDs and VHS tapes to the family wing of the hospital.


Kaitlin M.
Newark, DE

Kaitlin helped renovate the area around the pond at the Judge Morris Estate in White Clay Creek State Park for her Girl Scout Gold Award Project. Her efforts included clearing a path around the pond and installing three benches and a bridge to make the area around the pond more accessible to walkers, runners and other visitors.


Emily M.
Ocean Pines, MD

With the idea to create an environment of positive reinforcement, Emily developed the After-School Agape program for children ages four through ten who come from single-parent homes. Emily’s program included activities that build teamwork and taught the children about career opportunities. Her project was so successful that After-School Agape is expanding into a summer reading program and camp.


Elyse M.
Chesapeake City, MD

To earn her Girl Scout Gold Award, Elyse tested the water of the Chesapeake Bay, keeping records of her findings. She then compared these records to those from other bodies of water found in the East Coast. Elyse used this information to teach 5th graders about the importance of water pollution, including having them conduct their own lab experiment to try to clean up a simulated oil spill, showing them how taking care of the environment benefits everyone.


Kaitlyn M.
Salisbury, MD

Kaitlyn created learning stations for children along the Pondside Trail at Pemberton Historical Park for her Girl Scouts Gold Award project. These five activity stations have a treasure chest with a quick interactive lesson inside, which includes facts, questions, and tasks for the students. Kaitlyn’s project helped the children slow down and pay attention to the natural areas of interest around them.


Jessica M.
Perryville, MD

“Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, for once he has withstood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.” – James 1:12

For her Girl Scout Gold Award project, Jessica came up with a Senior Citizen Day Camp with the hopes of bridging the generation gap, with each day having a different theme. The favorite activity was Garden Day, during which everyone made wind chimes from miniature clay pots.


Marcella M.
Salisbury, MD

Marcella earned her Girl Scout Gold Award for creating the Youth Leadership Award of Excellence in association with the Youth Leadership Academy. She developed this award to help make the voices of young people more prominent in the community, and it is designed to recognize young people who show leadership potential and skills. It gives recipients the opportunity to further help their communities by serving on established boards and committees.


Shannon M.
Newark, DE

“Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to rank with these poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in a grey twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.”
- Theodore Roosevelt

Shannon created a cheerleading camp for girls with special needs to earn her Girl Scout Gold Award. Her camp focused on team building skills through basic cheers, chants, crafts, and games. A final performance included everything the girls had learned throughout the week, allowing the girls to share with their families their hard work and accomplishments.


Emily O.
Newark, DE

“A bird doesn’t sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song.” – Maya Angelou

Emily’s Girl Scout Gold Award project involved starting a learning workshop every Friday for ten weeks at the Mary Campbell Center. The girls who were being taught had a range of learning capabilities, so Emily chose topics on nature as themes for projects for the girls. Emily educated the girls on these themes, and led the girls as they created different arts and crafts to enhance their educational experience.


Margaret P.
Newark, DE

Margaret helped brighten up a local homeless shelter, the Emmaus House, for her Girl Scout Gold Award project. She painted a bedroom and a living room, along with stenciling a vine pattern in the dining room and a hallway of the shelter. Margaret believes that the homeless have a right to a fresh and clean-looking living environment. She brought her friendliness and positivity to improve the atmosphere at Emmaus House.


Michelle R.
Wilmington, DE

Michelle’s Girl Scout Gold Award project involved creating pajama outfits and collecting hygiene items for children and women at a local shelter. The project addressed the needs of children and women who have to leave home without any belongings. Michelle and a partner Girl Scout were able to assemble about 40 sets of pajamas and toiletries to give to the shelter.


Jennifer R.
Newark, DE

Jennifer participated in renovating the pond area at the Judge Morris Estate in White Clay Creek State Park for her Girl Scout Gold Award. Before the restoration, there was no trail around the pond, and only one sitting place. Now, thanks to the girls’ efforts, a trail has been cleared, three benches have been built and installed, and a wooden walkway has been put in for the community to enjoy.


Sh-Toya R.
Elkton, MD

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
- Philippians 4:13

Sh-Toya developed a Girl Scout Gold Award project that taught children safety around animals. She educated children on the kinds of diseases that can be caught from wild animals, and how to safely approach or stay away from ailing wildlife. She also gave them activities to complete to reinforce their learning of the topics Sh-Toya taught them. Sh-Toya hopes that the children will be more cautious around animals with their new awareness.


Jennifer R.
Newark, DE

“Do not wish to be anything but what you are, and try to be that perfectly.” - St. Francis De Sales

Jennifer ran a three-day camp for children with physical and mental disabilities to earn her Girl Scout Gold Award. She taught the children basic dance steps centered on balance and stretching that can also be done at home, spoke about nutrition, introduced healthy snacks, and had the children participate in three craft projects.


Darlene S.
Wilmington, DE

“It’s not that I think outside the box. I simply think there is no box.”

Darlene’s Girl Scout Gold Award project involved creating “comfees,” or quilts that can fold up into backpacks, for the children at the Mary Mother of Hope House. Darlene, along with her fellow Girl Scout group members, made and presented the comfees, or small blankets that can be folded into backpacks, to the children during a party at the shelter.


Meagan S.
Middletown, DE

“A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” – Sir Winston Churchill

To earn her Girl Scout Gold Award, Meagan increased environmental awareness with her Household Hazardous Waste Drive for the Middletown, Odessa and Townsend communities. Meagan spread the word about household hazardous waste and her Drive through a website, flyers, bulletins and other marketing tools. The Drive collected nearly 14,000 pounds of waste. Meagan hopes her efforts will spread the word about dangerous household waste, such as household appliances, paint cans and many other items, and encourage people to properly dispose of those items.


Meghan S.
Newark, DE

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” - Eleanor Roosevelt

Meghan’s Girl Scout Gold Award project involved bringing ponies from Carousel Park to work with students at The Sterck School for the Deaf. Teaming up with a fellow Girl Scout, Meghan organized a day at the Sterck School for the children to come outside to wash and walk the ponies, along with participating in arts and crafts and having their faces painted. The interaction between the children and the ponies was praised by many people in the community and by the staff at the school.


Emily Y.
Newark, DE

“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, you are a leader.” - John Quincy Adams

To earn her Girl Scout Gold Award, Emily created a web resource manual to aid Girl Scout troop advisors/leaders in planning activities for their girls to do for each level of Girl Scouting. The manual contains information on fun activities, badge programs, and sleepovers, along with some service suggestions for Girl Scouts looking for project ideas to earn their Bronze, Silver, or Gold Award.

Girl Scouting builds girls of confidence, courage, and character, who make the world a better place. We do that by providing girls with personal leadership development and programs that build real life skills for the real world.