This spring 48 Colorado Girl Scouts will receive the Gold Award, the highest honor in Girl Scouts. These young women have demonstrated exceptional commitment to taking action to make the world a better place through their community service. The accomplishments of Gold Award recipients reflect extraordinary leadership and citizenship skills that mark them as valuable contributors to their communities and world.
This year’s Colorado Gold Award projects benefited communities across the state. Topics varied from protecting the environment to helping low-resource children develop a love of reading to encouraging more people to participate in unified sports teams and clubs. Inspired by her twin brother who has an Autism Spectrum Disorder, Sarah Greichen from Centennial started Score A Friend, Inc., a new non-profit organization, which encourages schools to offer and have students participate in unified sports clubs and teams. Three other Gold Awardees from the Denver metro-area, Emma Hesse, Grace Dorgan and Meredith Greer, are in the same troop. Emma and Meredith’s projects focused on helping The Action Center in Jefferson County. Grace worked with low-resource children to teach them about nature and foster a love for the environment. Brittany Jaros from Boulder developed a program to educate middle school students about the importance of mental health and suicide prevention. Amy Nelson from Colorado Springs created a cookbook that teaches the basics of a healthy, nutritious diet while on a small budget. While on a diet, it would be best to continue doing exercise, especially with the Best Kettlebells and gallbladder supplement to maintain a balanced and healthy lifestyle for yourself.
The following Colorado Girl Scouts are among the 48 statewide who will be receiving the prestigious Gold Award for the 2015-16 Girl Scout awards year:
Katelyn Abbott from Cañon City, Cañon City High School, renovated the courtyard outside of Progressive Care Center, which offers nursing care, rehabilitation therapies, and Alzheimer’s care.
After learning a local school was wasting money on trash disposal and recyclable items were being thrown away, Tristina Altman from Colorado Springs, Colorado Springs Christian School, developed a recycling program for the school.
Belle Bashaw from Parker, Douglas County High School, developed a curriculum to teach elementary school students about the importance of bees, which bees they might see, and how they can help the bee population thrive.
To expand homeowners’ knowledge of crevice gardens and reduce outdoor water use, Carrie Bishop from Golden, Ralston Valley High School, added an educational aspect to the Apex Community Heroes Crevice Garden in Arvada.
Madison Block from Colorado Springs, Liberty High School, engaged elementary school students in science and other STEM-related topics through a fair attended by more than 300 people.
Hadley Bowles from Denver, Saint Mary’s Academy, worked with Metro Caring, one of Denver’s largest food assistance programs, to teach low-resource children where healthy food comes from and about eating healthy.
Allison Caperton from Littleton, Dakota Ridge High School, coordinated a gymnastics camp for children with special needs. Her camp was four weeks long and open to children of all ages with special needs.
Inspired by her own passion for music, Tierra Carter from Castle Rock, Colorado Springs Early Colleges, brought music to children in the hospital. She visited with more than 300 patients under the age of 8 and offered to teach them simple songs on a keyboard or play for them.
Hannah Clair from Colorado Springs, Springs Studio for Academic Excellence, worked to give students at her school a place to discover new friends. She designed and built a weatherproof bench that also stores many toys and games to play while making a new friend.
Kellyn Dassler from Parker, Chapparal High School, increased students’ respect for teachers and educators. She also worked to encourage teachers throughout the year and made working conditions better for staff by taking items off their “to-do” lists.
Sarah Depew from Colorado Springs, The George Washington University: Online High School, wrote an almost 80-page booklet that included original chemistry experiments for homeschool students, along with a parent manual for educators.
Grace Dorgan from Golden, Colorado Academy, designed a free, hands-on natural science curriculum and taught it to low-resource elementary school students in Denver, through a program called Horizons.
Katelyn Eaman from Broomfield, Broomfield High School, designed raised garden beds so students at her school could learn about gardening and the impact it can have on communities worldwide.
Delaney Fitzsimmons from Highlands Ranch, Mountain Vista High School, created a list of books intended for 5th to 8th grade readers with the purpose of providing a resource for students to find engaging books they will enjoy and finish.
Cailin Foster from Colorado Springs, Palmer Ridge High School, encouraged more girls to get interested in STEM by creating a robotics team at her school and helping other school districts with their robotics teams.
Martina Gilbert from Castle Pines, Rock Canyon High School, created a more welcoming, aesthetically pleasing, wheelchair-accessible outdoor area for Fisher House, a home for veterans and their families.
Jenni Golbuff from Fort Collins, Windsor High School, designed and built tables for a local summer camp. Her project started at Sky Ranch, but has expanded to camps around the nation.
Ashlin Gray from Colorado Springs, Palmer Ridge High School, created a learning and play area specifically for children at the new Family Day Center, which helps low-resource families.
Meredith Greer from Golden, Lakewood High School, worked to provide personal hygiene items to clients of The Action Center in Jefferson County.
Inspired by her twin brother who has an Autism Spectrum Disorder, Sarah Greichen from Centennial, Front Range Christian School, started a new non-profit organization to encourage more schools to offer and have students participate in unified sports teams and clubs.
Maniyah Hart from Colorado Springs, Cornado High School, partnered with Zach’s Place and the Manitou Art Center to develop an opportunity for children with autism to experience ceramics.
After noticing the garden at Black Rock Elementary School was incomplete and neglected, Emma Hassman from Erie, Erie High School, revitalized the space and got the community involved in the process and maintenance.
Emma Hesse from Golden, Lakewood High School, revitalized the clothing area of The Action Center in Jefferson County, specifically the area for teens. Her work helped raise the self-confidence of teens served by the center.
Courtney Howell from Niwot, Silver Creek High School, organized a science, math, and engineering exploration day for middle and elementary school to show them that science can be fun.
Stephanie Huisingh from Colorado Springs, Discovery Canyon Campus High School, wrote a detailed guide that lays out the specific steps for how to throw a high school party and include students with special needs.
Brittany Jaros from Boulder, Holy Family High School, developed a program to educate middle school students about the importance of mental health and suicide prevention.
Cassidy Klein from Highlands Ranch, ThunderRidge High School, collected more than 2,900 children’s books, which she used to create a library for Joshua Station, a transitional housing facility for families.
Helen Landwehr from Colorado Springs, Air Academy High School, refurbished and redecorated the Severe Special Needs room at Air Academy High School to make it a safe, welcoming, and effective learning environment.
Kimberly Levine from Longmont, Niwot High School, created a food drive tutorial, which was geared toward English and Spanish-speaking communities who are interested in making a difference.
Ashley Marttila from Colorado Springs, Doherty High School, created a choir at her church to bring children together and give them the confidence to perform in front of a large audience.
Lauren McBeth from Aurora, Cherokee Trail High School, built “House of Words,” a little free library, in newly renovated Tierra Park in northern Aurora.
Kelsey McKenna from Colorado Springs, Air Academy High School, spread publicity for non-profit junior golf organizations by organizing a junior golf scramble where high school golfers came as mentors for younger girls.
Jessica Mills from Colorado Springs, Air Academy High School, introduced basic engineering design skills to middle school students to spark an interest in STEM.
Emily Mohlis from Elizabeth, Elizabeth High School, organized the music, school-owned instruments, and accessories scattered throughout the band room and director’s office at her school.
Lauren Moran from Colorado Springs, Cheyenne Mountain High School, started a music program at a local retirement community, where high school musicians performed monthly and visited with residents.
Amy Nelson from Colorado Springs, Cheyenne Mountain High School, created a cookbook that teaches the basics of a healthy, nutritious diet while on a small budget.
Olivia Noakes from Thornton, Thornton High School, developed a multi-media presentation about opportunities in middle and high school music that was geared toward 4th and 5th grade students.
Angel Potter from Cañon City, Cañon City High School, worked with local non-profits to collect books so children from low-resource families could discover the joy of reading.
Meagan Prewitt from Colorado Springs, Coronado High School, created a mobile chest of activities for children with special needs who attend Sunrise United Methodist Church.
Nieca Robinson from Aurora, Eaglecrest High School, worked to make it easier for teenagers, specifically those at her school, to find help and resources specifically for them regarding domestic violence.
Sanskriti Saxena from Highlands Ranch, Douglas County High School, founded a youth chapter for a non-profit organization that works for the cause of underprivileged children around the world.
Alyssa Scaduto from Colorado Springs, Doherty High School, brought books to low-resource families by teaching schools how to hold a used book fair, which can be supported by a book drive.
Alessandra Smith from Colorado Springs, Liberty High School, created a program that provides residents of care facilities access to iPads and resources to Skype and use other apps to stay in touch with loved ones.
Emily Walker from Castle Rock, Castle Rock High School, created a project that provides teddy bears and handmade no-sew blankets to first responders in order to comfort people involved in traumatic situations.
Catherine Welch from Highlands Ranch, Highlands Ranch High School, helped senior citizens at a local retirement center stay in touch with loved ones by teaching them how to use iPads and other technology.
This year Girl Scouts across the country are celebrating the 100th anniversary of Girl Scouts’ highest award. The Gold Award culminates with a project led by one young woman between 9th and 12th grades who builds a purpose-based team to work with the larger community to meet a need. The focus of a Gold Award project is identifying and researching a community issue she is passionate about, developing a plan to address it in cooperation with her team and community members, establishing a global connection with others and providing sustainability for the project. Of the skills learned through Girl Scouts’ Highest Awards, leadership, organization and critical thinking are the fundamentals of the Girl Scout Leadership Experience. Some universities and colleges offer scholarships unique to Gold Award recipients, and girls who enlist in the U.S. Armed Forces may receive advanced rank in recognition of their achievements.
“Earning the Girl Scout Gold Award designation is truly a remarkable achievement, and these young women exemplify leadership in all its forms,” said Stephanie Foote, Chief Executive Officer of Girl Scouts of Colorado. “They saw a need and took ownership of helping to develop a solution and took action to make it happen. Their extraordinary dedication, perseverance and leadership are making the world a better place.”
Girl Scouts of Colorado will honor this year’s Gold Award recipients as well as recipients of Girl Scouts other two Highest Awards, the Silver (the Highest Award a Girl Scout Cadette can earn) and Bronze (the Highest Award a Girl Scout Junior can earn), at upcoming ceremonies around the state. These events include:
April 17th at 2 p.m. at Fort Collins Marriott., 350 E. Horsetooth Rd., Fort Collins
April 22nd at 6 p.m. at Center for American Values, 101 S. Main St. #100, Pueblo
April 24th at 2 p.m. Mountain View Methodist, 355 Ponca Pl., Boulder
April 24th at 2 p.m. Colorado Mesa University, 1100 North Ave., Grand Junction
May 1st at 2 p.m. at the Denver Marriott Tech Center, 4900 S. Syracuse St., Denver
May 6 at 6 p.m. at the Penrose House Garden Pavilion 1661 Mesa Ave., Colorado Springs