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(More photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/gscolorado/sets/72157644118952800/ )
More than a hundred Girl Scout family and friends gathered in Boulder on May 4 to honor Colorado Girl Scouts who earned one of Girl Scouts Highest Awards, the Bronze, Silver or Gold Award.
Six girls were presented with the Gold Award, the highest award a Girl Scout in grades 9-12 can earn. Girls who have earned this award demonstrate extraordinary leadership through a project that makes a difference in their community. Several Bronze Award honorees (the highest award a girl in grades 4-5 can earn) and Silver Award honorees (the highest award a girl in 6th – 8th grade can earn) also were presented with their awards. during Sunday’s ceremony, emceed by Annie Davis, a 2013 Gold Awardee from Boulder.
Girl Scouts of Colorado President and CEO Stephanie Foote said the girls’ spirit and motivation inspires us all to think of the needs of others and take action to make the world a better place.
“You are strong role models for our community and our world,” she said.
Emily Calzolari, Caitlyn Danielle Fitch, Ailee C. Rowe, Rowan Alaina Seabolt, Alexa Jo Stringer and Monica Teagan Weller spent a few minutes describing their Gold Award projects and how working toward Gold impacted their lives.
Emily, of Longmont, provided helmets for the Longmont Ice Pavilion and educated Learn-to-Skate parents and participants of the dangers of skating.
Caitlyn, from Northglenn, taught self-defense classes for girls and boys between the ages of 6 and 18 to promote the value of confidence in everyday life.
Ailee, of Westminster, designed and instituted a program in the local homeless shelter system to stimulate brain activity when the kids were not at school.
Rowan, from Westminster, created a summer horse camp program for children in the community who might not have the resources to have such an experience to explore the world around them and develop their passions.
Alexa, of Lafayette, wrote a curriculum and ran a counseling group for middle-school aged girls to raise self-esteem.
Monica, from Westminster, planned and participated in monthly events alongside Rotary Youth International Exchange students to help them make friends and experience all of the fun and culture of Colorado.
In addition at the ceremony, Curtis Stringer (Gold Awardee Alexa’s father) was presented with one of GSUSA’s top volunteer awards, The Honor Pin, for his outstanding work as a cookie volunteer. The award recognizes an individual’s exemplary service in support of delivering the Girl Scout Leadership Experience (GSLE) which has had measurable impact on two or more geographic areas of service, allowing the council to reach and surpass its mission-delivery goals.
The ceremony culminated with a bridging ceremony for all of the Girl Scouts present who were “bridging” or progressing to the next level of Girl Scouting.
We are immensely proud of these inspiring young leaders in our community.