What did you do for your Gold Award project?
For my Gold Award project, I built a library at Roundup River Ranch. The camp is for children who have or have had life-threatening illnesses. Due to the children having these illnesses, they are missing school and their literacy rates are dropping. The library that was built at the camp to address that problem, along with giving the campers something to do.
How did you measure the impact your Gold Award project made on your target audience?
To measure the impact on my project, I went directly to the people who are going to be using it. I asked the campers for their feedback and also got families and camp staff to give me feedback. Through their feedback, I was able to see how my project was going to affect the campers.
How is your project sustainable? How will your project continue to impact after your involvement?
To make sure that my project would continue after I finished it, I asked my project supervisor to sign a letter of commitment. On top of a letter of commitment, I left extra supplies for the checkout system, so it would last them longer. Lastly, the camp helped me come up with the idea of the library.
What is your project’s global and/or national connection?
For my global connection, I ended up working with a non-profit organization located in Kentucky called the International Book Project. This organization works with third world countries to increase literacy rates.
What did you learn about yourself?
This project helped me learn a lot of good and bad things about myself. One of the main things that I was able to learn was that I am not a people person and like to have my alone time to work on my projects. I also got to see how much of a perfectionist I was and was able to learn that not everything has to be perfect.
How will earning your Gold Award impact you in the future?
The Gold Award will help me in the future because I was able to work on many of the skills that I needed. For example, I learned to be a team member, instead of doing it all on my own. Also, I grew to have stronger leadership skills that will help me.
Why do you feel the Gold Award was an important part of your Girl Scout experience?
The Gold Award was an important part of my Girl Scout experience because it let me go higher in Girl Scouts. Also, it helped me become an inspiration for the little girls in Girl Scouts to keep going.
How did earning your Gold Award help you become a G.I.R.L. (go-getter, innovator, risk-taker, leader)?
Through this project, I have grown as a leader in so many ways. One way that I have grown as a leader is not being afraid to tell someone that they are doing something wrong. Before the project, I was afraid to talk to adults, but also to tell them they are doing something wrong since they are older than me. I also grew to be a risk-taker through the project. I took the risk of setting the final date of my project so close to my approval date. That was a risk because it was about a month to complete the library.
**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.