Over the past few months, heroes have emerged in our communities. And rightly so. The courage and determination shown by first responders, medical personnel, military reservists and others has been extraordinary as they protect each of us.
Having powerful examples to draw from, I would like to mention another role model hero: the Gold Award Girl Scout. Demonstrating a commitment to identifying a problem in her community and meeting the rigorous Gold Award requirements, 50 Girl Scouts completed a demanding program. They make up the 2020 Gold Award Girl Scout Class of Girl Scouts in the Heartland of Pennsylvania.
Members of the Class of 2020 Gold Award Girl Scouts addressed issues ranging from elder care, civic engagement, animal abuse, homelessness, teen suicide and veteran remembrance. Each Girl Scout in the Class of 2020 has invested over 80 hours in their Gold Award project, engaged an Adult Mentor and a Gold Award Advisor to support their efforts. Gold Award Girl Scouts who have earned this highest honor in Girl Scouting have demonstrated and fulfilled very specific requirements: identify and investigate a problem; gather help and build a team; create and present a plan; collect feedback; take action; educate and inspire to make a lasting impact within the community
Finally, the Gold Award Girl Scout must complete and submit their project for review and final approval. With the challenges we all face these days, that fifty young women have persevered in their journey is noteworthy. That they are Girl Scouts is not surprising.
The 2020 Gold Award Girl Scout class, representing 16 counties from GSHPA’s 30 county footprint, will no doubt continue to enact even more amazing results at the local, state and national levels. . . and certainly on the world stage. We can expect these 50 remarkable young women to continue to tackle the issues they care about and drive lasting change.
The desire to take action within their communities has been sparked in these Gold Award Girl Scouts, just as Juliette Gordon Low ignited Girl Scouts over 100 years ago. The Class of 2020 members powerfully embody all that is heroic about being a Girl Scout by performing with the deepest courage, confidence and character.
Join us in celebrating the Class of 2020 as we celebrate them on our social media platforms on Facebook at GSHPA and on the Girl Scouts in the Heart of Pennsylvania LinkedIn page.
Congratulations, Gold Award Girl Scouts!
Janet Donovan, RADM, JAGC, USN (Ret.) is President and CEO of Girl Scouts in the Heart of Pennsylvania.
Comments are closed.