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Girl Scout troop wows with seven Gold Awards
(by Sue Hoffman - April 25, 2011)
Girl Scout troop wows with seven Gold Awards
By SUE HOFFMAN
Only about one in 20 eligible Girl Scouts earns the Gold Award. So when Troop 833 in Chagrin Falls had seven of its 11 members receiving the Girl Scouts' top award last Saturday, the achievement was considered most unusual.
"The Gold Award is the highest and most prestigious award that a Girl Scout can earn," troop co-leader Lori Zaim, of South Russell, said. "Only 5.4 percent of eligible Girl Scouts earn the award. The girls in Troop 833 have done an outstanding job earning their awards."
"We are so proud of our girls for their perseverance on a path that has taken four years, many requirements and countless hours to complete," co-leader Jenny Dunegan, of South Russell, said. A small percentage of girls who start Girl Scouts in elementary school continue through their senior year of high school, she said.
All of the girls receiving their Gold Award started Scouting in kindergarten or first grade at Gurney Elementary School, Mrs. Dunegan said. Two elementary school troops merged in intermediate school to form Troop 833. They are all graduating high school seniors, including five at Chagrin Falls High School and two at private schools.
"You can begin the Gold Award project in the ninth grade," Mrs. Dunegan said. "We went to a training program about the Gold Award as a group. I think that might have kept them together through the process. They worked on their projects during their junior and senior years."
The girls also had the benefit of role models, she said. Mrs. Zaim's two older daughters both received the Gold Award. "It was so helpful to know two Chagrin Falls' Scouts who accomplished that."
Unlike the Boy Scouts' top Eagle Scout rank, there's no time limit for attaining the Gold Award, troop leaders said. However, the girls were encouraged to finish their projects by senior year, and they did.
The Gold Award ceremony, which took place at Chagrin Falls High School last Saturday, honored girls who truly made a difference in their communities and in some cases globally.
Hayden Dougherty's project, titled "The Great Escape," included a creative crafts program and toy drive for children at University Hospitals. "The project has positively influenced me to continue my pursuit of an education and a career in the medical field," she said. The project also raised her confidence in her ability to lead and positively affect the lives of others, she said.
"Titles for Tanzania," Abby Dunegan's project, included donations of books for an English library and creation of learning puzzles for the Manow School in Tanzania. "By doing this project I discovered the rewards of being able to directly help people in another nation and have an effect on their lives," Abby said. "This experience has influenced my choice to major in international studies."
In her project, "Super Science," Amanda King taught an after-school program for fourth-, fifth- and sixth-grade girls at Chagrin Falls Intermediate School to create excitement about science. "My Gold Award project taught me how to communicate better with other people," she said. "It also taught me how to think on my feet and improvise when things don't go as planned."
"Bags for Babies" was the theme of Jenny Klose's project, which involved the creation of take-home bags for newborns of families in need. "I feel fortunate to have been able to help new mothers and their babies have the best possible start," Jenny said. "It was also very rewarding to see how appreciative the representatives at University Hospitals were."
In her project, "Give a Shoe - Change a Life," Kalle Nelson collected over 2,000 shoes and donated them to Soles 4 Souls for global distribution. "I was constantly impressed by the generosity and willingness to help that perfect strangers exhibited," she said. Their support "made me strive to become a stronger and more self-assured person."
Megan Porter's project was "An Adolescent Guide to Breast Cancer," in which she developed an awareness program about the disease. "I am exceptionally grateful to the community for giving me the opportunity to help young adults in my school system learn more about women's health issues," she said.
Hannah Zaim's project, "Green up Your Life," involved a community-wide collection of more than 2,000 phone books for recycling. "I realized that South Russell would benefit from offering a phone book recycling bin to residents," said Hannah, who also taught younger Scouts about recycling.
All of the girls are students at Chagrin Falls High School, except for Kalle Nelson, who attends Hawken School in Chester, and Megan Porter, who attends Hathaway Brown School in Shaker Heights.
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