What did you do for your Gold Award project?
I partnered with the Colorado Haiti Project and developed a youth entrepreneurial program for the eighth-grade class at St. Paul’s Episcopal School in Petit Trou, Haiti. The three-day hands-on business workshop was an opportunity for eighth-grade students to “start” small businesses or Ti Biznis. The students learned the five fundamentals of business beginning with creating a business plan, gathering a loan, creating a product, advertising it, and creating a profit to be sustainable.
How did you measure the impact your Gold Award project made on your target audience?
Following the three-day workshop, the students took a business survey, as well as demonstrated their proficiency by all earning a profit. Even more so, following the workshop, the students went home and created more products with the materials they were able to purchase with their profit and began selling their products for real money.
How is your project sustainable? How will your project continue to impact your involvement?
Following my workshop, the Colorado Haiti Project will continue to use my curriculum and the design of my workshop for five years. Along with the Colorado Haiti Project, I have also been in contact with other Haitian schools as well as a non-profit that works in Honduras where my curriculum could be of value.
What is your project’s global and/or national connection?
As my Gold Award is already internationally focused, I have presented to several local groups to expand the impact of my Gold Award within Summit County. I have presented to the French Honors Society at my school, to my leadership class, and to Interact, the youth version of Rotary International. I also reached out to 9News several times through email, call, text, and video and did not receive a response. Through my local outreach, The Summit Foundation, an organization in Summit County that promotes philanthropy, awarded me with 2017 Most Outstanding and Philanthropic Youth at a community-wide ceremony held in November 2017. I will continue my impact through speaking to local troops about the value of the Gold Award and Girl Scouts as well as promoting education in other third world countries such as Honduras.
What did you learn about yourself?
Through my Gold Award, I learned to truly step into my leadership potential. This started with being comfortable talking on the phone, to organizing huge fundraising events, organizing volunteers, gathering community support, improving on being adaptable, to my most important and improved skill of public speaking. All of these skills are vitally important to growing up and becoming a female leader of tomorrow. My Gold Award has allowed me to be a source of leadership and philanthropy in my community, which will lead to scholarships, colleges, and so much more. I can not thank Girl Scouts enough for not only providing me with this opportunity, but for encouraging me to reach for the stars.
How will earning your Gold Award impact you in the future?
My leadership skills will absolutely continue to grow and strengthen because of my Gold Award. We all set our own limitations, whatever they may be, and throughout my Gold Award journey, I have truly surpassed many of the limits I had set. My public speaking, ability to smoothly and comfortably speak on the phone, organize, direct, and leverage influence was all cultivated in my Gold Award and is now propelling me to new heights. My main fundraiser for my Gold Award was a Haitian Gala dinner. It was my first time ever attempting to organize an event of this nature and capacity and it was beyond successful. It was so successful, fun, and I learned so much from it that I will be doing another gala dinner this year on March 17, 2018, to support education in Honduras. Not only has Girl Scouts and my Gold Award developed my leadership, but it has developed my philanthropic spirit. All the work and efforts put forth through my Silver Award which turned into me starting my own philanthropic bakery, to my Gold Award and promoting education in third world countries was never done for fame but because I truly find joy in doing so. However, in 2017 the Summit Foundation honored me as Summit County’s Most Outstanding Philanthropic Youth of the year. This recognition was so heartwarming and humbling. I was able to shed light on Girl Scouts and the character development it provides and how “worth it” it is to stay involved in the program.
Why do you feel the Gold Award was an important part of your Girl Scout experience?
For me, the Gold Award journey was the bow on the present. It tied everything together, the Journeys, cookie program, various events, and service were all brought together in one package with completing the Gold Award. It’s all about the process from whenever a girl joins Girl Scouts to when they finish. And with it being such a long, yet rewarding journey, completing the Gold Award makes all the time, energy, and effort worth it. It’s such a rewarding process that I hope all girls strive for!
How did earning your Gold Award help you become a G.I.R.L. (go-getter, innovator, risk-taker, leader)?
My Gold Award forced me to be a go-getter. Without that characteristic of being a G.I.R.L, my Gold Award would not have been what it is. I have always had a “bossy” personality and once I got older I became ashamed of that characteristic and felt that it made me seem aggressive or mean. But through my Gold Award journey, it was put into perspective that being “bossy” doesn’t have to be a bad thing. I am proud that I can shape my characteristic of taking charge into a positive light of being a go-getter because, without strong girls and women who harness their go-getter mentality, we wouldn’t be heading into the groundbreaking future we are.
**IMPORTANT NOTE: This blog represents only a small fraction of the hard work, dedication, and requirements that go into earning a Girl Scout Gold Award. It is simply a brief summary, which is meant to inspire Girl Scouts to Go Gold in the future. For more information on earning your Gold Award, please email highestawards@gscolorado.org.