Girl Scouts can do incredible things–– 80 young women from the Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana area proved that.

Individually, the girls tackled issues they couldn’t ignore. Together, they make quite an impressive group of changemakers.

With over 6,400 service hours combined, these Girl Scouts earned their Gold Awards, the highest award a Girl Scout can earn, and exemplified the passion and determination required to make a difference.

Continue along to meet some of these Girl Scouts, and view photos from this year’s Gold Award Ceremony in our photo album on Facebook!
To learn more about Gold Award projects, check out the informational program booklet on our website.

Meet the Next 10 Gold Award Girl Scouts

Continue to follow along to meet more Gold Award girls throughout this blog series!

Grace M.

For her Gold Award, Grace fundraised money for an organization called Selah Freedom to assist their efforts in liberating women from sex trafficking. By selling baked goods and jewerly, Grace raised enough to gift the women in the residential program a couch and blanket. While working on her project, she was able to raise awareness on teenage sex trafficking.

Grace M.

Grace wanted to bring the service opportunity to volunteer for the organization Operation Support our Troops. Her Gold Award project was aimed at bringing awareness to the needs of military troops in her community. In order to build awareness, she showcased O.S.O.T. literature and hosted a food drive at her church to collect items for the organization.

Jane Caroline M.

With the help of her school’s thespian society, Jane Caroline started “Posen Performers,” a free two-week theater camp for kids in her community. She wanted to bring these kids the chance to build confidence, practice teamwork, and have fun, all while experiencing the theater. She created schedules, advertised and produced the show, and directed the kids and staff!

Sherry M.

After learning that hospitals in her community lacked funding to provide books for chronically ill children, Sherry knew she had to help. She raised money, collected board books for the developmental clinic at Lurie Children’s Hospital, sewed book bags with other Girl Scouts, and designed a brochure about child language development with pediatric specialists.

Sophie Cole M.

Sophie Cole focused her efforts on preserving the Monarch butterfly population. For her Gold Award, she passed on sustainable solutions to the issue by teaching seminars to elementary students, harveting and planting seeds, and distributing mudballs (or seed bombs) to help plants regrow, germinate, and multiply.

Tiffany M.

After meeting with staff at AMITA Hospital in Bolingbook, Tiffany decided to dedicate her Gold Award to comforting families during their time in the hospital. She designed and published an activity book for the patients staying in the emergency room for long or short term periods, and she hopes the project will be sustained for years to come.

Kari Alexandra M.

It is estimated that 85% of textiles in the United States end up in landfills. For her Gold Award, Kari Alexandra decided to tackle this by collecting over 1,500 textiles at a recyling drive at her high school. She then donated the textiles to SWALCO, an organization that recycles fabric into usable new products.

Ana Nikol P.

Ana Nikol wanted to offer a sense of warmth to the bodies and souls of the homeless people in her community, and wanted to raise awareness on how prevalent the issue is. She distributed 85 homemade tie-blankets to the homeless population, and made sure they would be continue to be made and distributed annually.

Sabrina P.

For her Gold Award, Sabrina built an outdoor classroom and garden at one of her district’s elementary schools. She curated a lesson plan for the students about the plants in the garden and how to help the environment. The classroom can be continued to be used on nice days to get a refresher from an indoor education.

Christine P.

Christine saw the need to increase awareness in her community about chronic illness, and to support local youth who are struggling with it. For her Gold Award, Christine created a website and blog, flyers, and a brochure for children recently diagnosed with juvenile arthritis that she distributed to local schools and pediatric offices.

The Golden Age

Bronze. Silver. Gold. These represent the highest honors a Girl Scout can earn.

When girls put their minds to it, they can achieve incredible things. Each of these awards give Girl Scouts the chance to make positive changes: whether its planting a vegetable garden for the Bronze award, creating care packages for cancer survivors for the Silver, or building an iPhone app for the Gold, they’ll change their corner of the world—and beyond. The possibilities are endless.

Learn more about earning the Girl Scouts’ Highest Awards.

Don’t miss out on meeting the previously featured Gold Award Girls Scouts!
Part One: Meet the first 10 girls (last names A-B) »
Part Two: Meet the second 10 girls (last names B-D) »
Part Three: Meet the third 10 girls (last names F-H) »
Part Four: Meet the fourth 10 girls (last names H-K) »
Part Five: Meet the fifth 10 girls (last names K-L) »