GSCB Girl Scout Earns $10,000 Gold Award Scholarship from GSUSA
Salisbury Area Girl Scout receives Girl Scouts National Scholarship for exceptional Gold Award project
August 3rd, 2023 (NEWARK, DE) - Each year, Girl Scouts of the Chesapeake Bay is honored to recognize it's exceptional Gold Award Girl Scouts. The council’s charter organization, Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA), has awarded one of those Class of 2023 Gold Award recipients, Henna Parmar of Salisbury, MD, a $10,000 national scholarship for her outstanding community-based project, Type 1 Talk.
Henna, a student at James M Bennett High School, created a podcast to help connect teens from all over the world with Type 1 Diabetes and educate others on the condition. According to Henna's research, in the U.S. less than one-third of type one diabetics achieve target blood glucose levels. In addition, one in four people with diabetes are affected by depression and it is five times higher in type one adolescents. These issues can lead to serious consequences such as poor diabetes management or feelings of social isolation. To address these issue, she decided to create her podcast series, titled Type 1 Talk , where she collaborates with other type one diabetic teenage girls to share experiences and insights about managing their condition, their mental health, and connecting with their non-type 1 peers. Her podcast featured teen girls from around the world, who shared their diverse perspectives and unique experiences. Together, they discussed topics such as diagnoses, coping and adjusting to living with a chronic condition, school and sports adjustments, highs and lows, misconceptions, and the future.
Henna is among a group of 110 Gold Award Girl Scouts from across the U.S. receiving national scholarships made possible in part by the Kappa Delta Foundation in addition to funds from GSUSA and its National Board. She was selected because her project exemplifies the core components of the Gold Award and demonstrates extraordinary leadership to drive lasting change in her community and beyond.
This year’s class of world-changers raised $2.5 million in funding and invested over 300,000 hours to address real-life problems such as environmental sustainability, racial justice, mental and physical wellness, and gender inequality in STEM. Gold Award Girl Scouts demonstrate the breadth of issues American teens feel are most prevalent in society today.
To earn the Girl Scout Gold Award, Henna completed more than 80 hours of work and seven steps which include:
- Identifying an issue in her community
- Investigating the issue thoroughly
- Building a team to support her efforts
- Creating a plan to take action
- Presenting the plan and gathering feedback
- Taking action by leading a team to carry out the plan
- Educating and inspiring
Gold Award Girl Scouts become innovative problem-solvers, empathetic leaders, confident public speakers, and focused project managers. They learn resourcefulness, tenacity, and decision-making skills, giving them an edge personally and professionally. As they take action to transform their communities, Gold Award Girl Scouts gain tangible skills and prove they’re the leaders our world needs.
According to recent research, Gold Award Girl Scouts are more likely to fill leadership roles at work and in their personal lives and are more civically engaged than their non-Girl Scout peers. Eighty-seven percent (87%) of Gold Award Girl Scouts agree that earning their Gold Award gave them skills that help them succeed professionally. Seventy-two percent (72%) said earning their Gold Award helped them get a scholarship. Changing the world doesn’t end when a Girl Scout earns her Gold Award. Ninety-nine percent (99%) of Gold Award Girl Scout alums take on leadership roles in their everyday lives.
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About Girl Scouts of the Chesapeake Bay
Girl Scouts bring their dreams to life and work together to build a better world. Through programs throughout the Delmarva Peninsula, Girl Scouts of all backgrounds and abilities can be unapologetically themselves as they discover their strengths and rise to meet new challenges—whether they want to climb to the top of a tree or the top of their class, lace up their boots for a hike or advocate for climate justice, or make their first best friends. Backed by trusted adult volunteers, mentors, and millions of alums, Girl Scouts lead the way as they find their voices and make changes that affect the issues most important to them. To join us, volunteer, reconnect, or donate, visit www.gscb.org.
