Raising Change
Girl Scouts Go Above & Beyond: Achieving the Highest Awards
unique as the Girl Scouts completing them, demonstrating that there is no limit to what a Girl Scout can achieve with dedication and creativity. For the past 10 years, it has been my honor to oversee the highest awards at Girl Scouts of Western New York. I am continually astonished by the caliber of projects that girls from our council accomplish.
Girl Scouts go above and beyond to make a difference in their communities and the world. The Bronze, Silver, and Gold Awards are the highest honors a Girl Scout can earn, offering a chance to create meaningful change while developing essential leadership skills.
The highest awards serve as benchmarks for leadership, community service, and personal growth. These awards not only honor the achievements of individual Girl Scouts but also inspire them to continue making positive contributions to society throughout their lives.
Melanie Bloodworth Vice President of Girl Experience
Educational Scholarship Fund
Established in 1997 and recognizes the achievement and character of Girl Scouts graduating in 2024 who have achieved their Silver and/ or Gold Award. Scholarships are awarded by the committee based on a combination of Girl Scout and non-Girl Scout activities, awards and leadership positions.
Recipients
Anna Carlson, Kennedy
Carly Faller, Sanborn
Emily Ferguson, East Aurora
Emily Fox, Akron
Gaia Godinho, Kenmore
Kaity Hersee, North Tonawanda
Aianna Kettavong, Rochester
Leila Kuhns, North Tonawanda
Emily Lamb, Geneseo
Kaitlyn Landis, Akron
Anna Levy, Geneseo
Bronwyn Lucyszyn, Rochester
Miracle Martin, Sanborn
Ashley Mazur, Lake View
Juliana Meade, Lake View
Alison Mittnight, Williamsville
Leah Montulli, Rochester
Gabrielle Nuara, Williamsville
Lilly J. Pietrowski, Akron
Mary Repass, Honeoye Falls
Isabelle Schrock, North Tonawanda
Annika Singh, Clarence Jerzie Smith, Kennedy
Mackenzie Sutton, Churchville
Caroline Tallon, Geneseo
Summer Tisdale, Cheektowaga
Hailey Wahl, Hamburg
Zoe Wiech, East Aurora
Alexandra Woloszyn, Grand Island
The Kim Welsh Memorial Scholarship
The Kimberley A. Welsh Scholarship was established by the Welsh family in memory of their daughter, Kim. The scholarship commemorates the love and dedication Kimberley showed for Girl Scouting. Applicants must have completed a Gold Award project, be able to demonstrate good citizenship and be actively involved in Girl Scouting. She must also be planning to enroll or already enrolled in Higher Education.
Recipients
Anna Levey, Geneseo
Isabelle Schrock, North Tonawanda
Lilly Pietrowski, Akron
Annika Singh, Clarence
Hans
& Charlene Schoenenberger
“Golden Opportunity” Scholarship
This scholarship was established to reward the hard work and dedication of one Girl Scout Gold Award recipient each year.
Recipient
Morgan Christensen, East Aurora
Ralph & Mary McLean
Wilson Scholarship
Girl Scouts of the USA Gold Award Scholarship
This scholarship recognizes one outstanding Gold Award Girl Scout from each council whose project exemplifies the core components of the Gold Award. The recipient of this scholarship will receive $5,000 for their post-secondary education. The Girl Scout honored with this scholarship is Carly Faller for her Gold Award project: Food for the Soul.
Project: Food for the Soul
Mary McLean Wilson and her late husband, Ralph, the first owner of the Buffalo Bills, were so impressed with the caliber of the Girl Scouts earning their Gold Awards that they established this scholarship to be awarded to two girls each year.
Recipients
Kaity Hersee, North Tonawanda
Evelyn Northrup, Pavilion
I partnered with Heart, Love and Soul in Niagara Falls to create a recipe book filled with meals that their clients can make with the food that is readily available in their food pantry. I have worked in all aspects of their outreach center, including serving in the soup kitchen, organizing their food pantry and their new social care services center that provides all needs under one roof. I have also interviewed the clients and talked to them about their needs and preferences in food and what they are able to cook in order to make my project feasible to all. To raise the necessary funds in order to create and print these cookbooks I partnered with the Lewiston Council on the Arts and held a large bake sale during the Buffalo Philharmonic concert in Academy Park in July 2023. I bought spices to donate with any excess money I had and donated the books in February 2024 when the project was completed. Upon completion, I had dedicated 111 hours to this award. I wanted to impart the knowledge that cooking can be an experience that can bring people together even if you don’t have the most expensive ingredients– that the memories that come with cooking are not just for the people who can follow the recipe to a tee. I hope the recipes I chose made these ideas come true.
The Gold Award: The Pinnacle of Girl Scouting
The Girl Scout Gold Award is the highest honor in Girl Scouting. Established in 1912 and having undergone several name changes over the years— Golden Eaglet, Curved Bar, and First Class—it was officially renamed the Gold Award in 1980. Less than 6% of eligible Girl Scouts earn this prestigious award. The Gold Award is earned by Senior or Ambassador Girl Scouts who are in 9th through 12th grade. A Gold Award Girl Scout identifies a community issue, explores why the issue is happening, creates an action plan to solve the issue, builds a team, and ensures it is sustainable. Girls invest a minimum of 80 hours in their project, demonstrating extraordinary leadership and making a lasting impact.
Gold Award Highlight:
Isabel De La Rosa
My Gold Award addressed disparity issues regarding the access of poison prevention information and resources for Spanish speaking children and families. I partnered with the University at Buffalo School of Pharmacy who work with local schools and agencies to present and distribute information I created on poison control – to reach the audience in need of this information in Spanish.
I am Hispanic and fluent in Spanish, so I thought that this would be a great way to use my Spanish skills to help the Spanish speaking community in Buffalo. The UB School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences engages in outreach and instruction on poison prevention in the community and I saw a need for materials in other languages. I worked with a professor from the School of Pharmacy at the University at Buffalo to create and then translate materials that will be distributed. For my project I created colorful pamphlets with information for families in Spanish, including the poison prevention phone numbers, and the steps that should be taken to keep your home safe for children. I also created flyers featuring digital images of examples of household products that could be dangerous for children.
As part of my project, in addition to creating the visual materials, I created a video and posted on YouTube where I presented in Spanish and gave the basic steps to keeping your home safe. I sent my materials to Spanish bilingual teachers in the City of Buffalo as well as to Hispanos Unidos de Buffalo who will be distributing my materials to local community members and housing tenants in the future. The visual materials I created are also shared and linked to the YouTube video for anyone to print and share.
My journey as a Girl Scout has helped me step out of my comfort zone and become more confident. I am a coxswain on my high school crew team, which gives me a leadership role in the boat as well as advocating for others on my team. I believe that my participation in Girl Scouts helped to inspire me to take on this leadership role and to encourage the girls in my boat to win. A few of the girls in my boat are even in my Girl Scout troop!
I applied to and was accepted to the University at Buffalo School of Pharmacy Summer Institute, which I will be attending this summer. It was my work on this Gold Award Project that gave me more of an interest in pursuing pharmacy in the future. I will be applying to colleges this fall and I am grateful for so many years in Girl Scouts and the experiences that have guided me to where I am today. Gracias.
Gold Award Highlight:
Sienna Jaroszewski
For my Gold Award Project I founded a volunteering organization in my high school with the intended goal of providing more service opportunities to students.
I held after-school meetings and weekend events where High Schoolers could experience the wonders of volunteering, pursue community involvement, and work alongside well-known local businesses such as the Ten Lives Club, the Teacher’s Desk, and the Variety Club of Buffalo. Club members were able to aid in volunteer work and learn about the importance of providing a helping hand in their city.
Where I’m from, you need a minimum of 10 to 15 volunteering hours during your senior year just to graduate. For the National Honor Society you now need 45 hours. On the Common Application for college, there is an entire section dedicated to volunteer work.
at my disposal. I had the chance to participate in food drives, beach cleanups, Christmas tree donations, and supply drives for local school districts. I volunteered in association with the City Mission, the Teacher’s Desk, Variety Club of Buffalo, Meals on Wheels, Roswell Park, the SPCA, and more. All of these experiences were available to me because of my participation in Girl Scouts, and I am so grateful for them... However, not every student is this lucky.
I find it so incredibly frustrating that High School students are expected to volunteer to graduate, yet often little to no resources are provided to them. Furthermore, not every child has the ability to drive somewhere on the weekends. For Service Club, I attempted to make this connection between students and the community easier. My goal was to create an avenue where more students can become acquainted with being involved in leadership roles and learning to speak out on community concerns.
I believe that the impact of a Girl Scout goes far beyond her awards and badges. It is much more than selling cookies at a booth sale.
Growing up in Girl Scouts I always found myself with a multitude of volunteering opportunities
To be a Girl Scout is to have a natural affinity for the world. It is thinking beyond immediacies and pursuing neglected topics others avoid due to discomfort. My mother’s background reminds me to cultivate attention for conversations that go unnoticed and maintain the empathy she worked so hard to keep. I hope that my story will inspire young girls like me to step out of their comfort zone and make a commitment to making changes in our world, no matter how spectacular or mundane they may be.
The Silver Award: Making a Lasting Impact
The Girl Scout Silver Award is the highest award that a Cadette Girl Scout (grades 6-8) can achieve. Approximately 10 percent of eligible Girl Scout members earn this prestigious award. Cadette Girl Scouts can earn their Silver Award as individuals or in groups of four or fewer, investing at least 50 hours in their projects to create a lasting impact in their communities.
To earn the Silver Award, girls must complete a Cadette Journey, gaining skills and insights related to their project theme. They can choose to work with a small team or independently, which fosters leadership and decision-making skills. Girls identify a community issue they care about and develop a comprehensive plan to address it. The project should involve a minimum of 50 hours of work, aiming to create lasting change in the community.
Silver Award Highlight: Girl Scout Troop 42222
Girl Scout Troop 42222 completed their Silver Award project at the Genesee County Fairgrounds horse barn. The Girl Scouts made multiple improvements to the barn which is utilized by various horse programs throughout the community during the year.
The troop focused on creating structural improvements to the west entryway and gate by replacing damaged walls, hand digging four-foot deep holes to replace support beams, adding a weed barrier, placing fresh mulch, installing a wheel on the gate, and finally organizing the tool supply storage area after making further wall repairs. The girls spent numerous hours painting donated wood, walls, and doors, as well as obtaining several supply donations (rakes, shovels, water buckets, etc.) for shared use by horse barn patrons.
The Bronze Award: A Stepping Stone to Greatness
The Bronze Award is the highest award a Junior Girl Scout can earn. The Bronze Award serves as a stepping stone in a Girl Scout’s journey towards their Silver and Gold Awards. This award emphasizes teamwork and collective community service, encouraging young scouts to work together to make a difference.
To earn the Bronze Award, girls must complete a Journey, which involves exploring a theme through a series of activities and projects. This foundational step ensures they are prepared for their Bronze Award project. The next step is building a team of fellow Girl Scouts to work on the project, fostering collaboration and communication skills. The team then explores their community to identify an issue or need they are passionate about addressing. They plan and implement a project, requiring a minimum of 20 hours of work per girl, which should tackle the root cause of the issue and have a sustainable impact.
Bronze Award Highlight:
Girl Scout Troop 30072
The Juniors from Multi-Level Troop 30072 (girls from Amherst and Tonawanda) worked with the SPCA for their Bronze Award Project.
The project took on a life of its own after the troop visited the SPCA where they met the animals and learned about the organization. The girls were surprised to learn how important donations are to the SPCA and wanted to help.
They finished their Bronze Award this year with the help of their Brownie and Cadette troop members.
The Juniors took on a leadership role and instructed the other girls on how to make animal blankets as well as cat and dog toys using fabric and lots of knots! The Junior girls worked independently at home as well as over the course of several meetings to make over 80 blankets and 100’s of animal toys! The troop was able to get some of the fabric donated and used their cookie proceeds to pay for the rest. The troop also collected items from the SPCA’s wish list to add to their donation. Overall the girls really enjoyed the creativity of making the blankets and toys as well as the satisfaction of giving!
Bronze Award Highlight: Girl Scout Troop 60007
Girl Scout Troop 60007 completed their Bronze Award working with Make a Difference (MAD) Rescue of WNY.
“MAD Rescue” is 100% volunteer, and passionate about helping the homeless, abused and abandoned Dogs of Puerto Rico. They rely on the kindness and generosity of other animal loving individuals to spread the word, donate or volunteer.
The girls spent the year learning about animal shelters and animals in our community. Once they decided on the local shelter M.A.D., they decided to host a fundraiser outside of the local library. Leading up to the event the girls were busy doing marketing including writing and presenting speeches for their school morning announcements. They made arts and crafts to sell along with hosting mini carnival game (choose a duck from the duck pond, spin the prize wheel and a mini cup game). Along with the fund raising, the girls also focused their efforts on educating community members about the rescue with informational posters set-up in their booth.
Through their efforts as well as their own donation they were able to raise $1,000 for the rescue as well as spread the word to hundreds of people about rescue animals in need in our community.
Raising Change
A publication for GSWNY Donors and Alums
Raising Change is published quarterly by the Girl Scouts of Western New York.
Raising Change is published quarterly by the Girl Scouts of Western New York.
Cherie Messore, Executive Vice President of Marketing Communications, Editor Photographs by Eileen Koteras Elibol, Cherie Messore, Khushboo Salian, and supplied photos.
United Way funding supports our entire council.
United Way funding supports our entire council.
Email: customercare@gswny.org Telephone: 888-837-6410
Website: ww w.gswny.org
