Girl Scout Troop 1051 of Seal Beach is soon to hold the distinguished honor of having seven Senior Girl Scouts achieve the highest award in Girl Scouting-The Gold Award.
The seven girls have been together in Troop 1051 since kindergarten.
Kimberly Boyd, Troop Leader and Troop Advisor shares, “I am very proud of the commitment that each scout has shown over the last 12 years.”
Co-Leader, Sandi Hernandez concurs and adds, “All the girls worked really hard to achieve the Gold Award,
while continuing to support numerous charities throughout the community and maintain good grades.”
The Girl Scout Gold Award is the highest award that a Scout 14-18 may earn-only 5.4% of all registered 14-18 yrs old scouts attain this award.
Someone once described the Girl Scout Gold Award as being “what you really want to be remembered for” in Girl Scouting. For many, the leadership skills, organizational skills, and sense of community and commitment that come from “going for the Gold” set the foundation for a lifetime of active citizenship.
Each scout has a unique project- something that they are passionate about. In November 2009, Chelsea Padova coordinated baskets for the homeless.
Ms. Padova teamed with Kidz That Care, a local group of children who do charity acts throughout the community. She led the crusade by feeding the homeless throughout the holidays.
Lauren Rogers implemented an Emergency Preparedness program for Precious Life Shelter. The organization provides housing to homeless mothers and their children. She developed fire escape plans for two new buildings, coordinated donations for two emergency kits and teaching a class to the staff and residents of Precious Life. Rogers found that networking was the key to success in her project.
Rachael Yohai’s project was to raise awareness regarding the need for writing pens for children in Africa. She has aligned herself with a non-profit called Pens for Kids (www.pensforkids.com).
In March, Yohai spoke to 1200 students at McAuliffe Middle School and ran a contest for a week to see which English Class can donate the most pens. Through her efforts she was able to send over 17,000 pens to several designated schools in Tanzania and Kenya.
Yohai encourages other people and groups to start Pens For Kids collection projects too.
“For something so small and available to make such a difference in kid’s lives is amazing,” she said. “How many of us don’t have 10 or 20 extra pens sitting in a kitchen drawer or in the bottom of a purse?”
Megan Boyd created a Wall of Valor at Los Alamitos High School, which is a permanent display case located on the campus outside the main office. Her focus is on recognizing alumni that serve or have served in the United States Military.
This will be an on-going display, which will be updated for many years to come.
The new contact person will be Cindy Kistner. Boyd wanted to inform her fellow students about the high cost of freedom and give back to the men and women who protect our country.
Ashley Hernandez helped bring awareness about raising guide dogs for blind and visually impaired people. Hernandez worked with Guide Dogs of America, where she has taken training classes and is now raising a guide dog puppy herself to gain first hand experience.
Hernandez created a video, a poster, and a brochure to enhance the education to the public. She planned and implemented a booth at the Roosmoor Festival to share information and make people aware of what is involved in training a guide dog and how others can get involved with Guide Dogs of America.
Emily Rais provided entertainment to senior communities that might not have the mobility to travel. Rais organized a group of musicians from Los Alamitos High School to play orchestral arrangements for senior facilities.
She held multiple practices, coordinating pamphlets with the students playing and what piece each would be perform.
The performances were an hour to an hour and a half long. This included solo pieces and the group playing music from a quartet book. The instruments played various music, from violin, piano, acoustic guitar to flute.
Crystal Jackson teamed with Guide Dogs of America to bring recognition on how the guide dogs help blind and visually impaired people. Jackson arranged and worked at a booth at the Seal Beach Car show where she brought awareness of the guide dog program to the people of our community.
She is also raising a puppy to become a guide dog that will assist a blind or visually impaired person giving them much independence.
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