2014
Girl Scout Gold Awards
Girl Scouts – North Carolina Coastal Pines
gsnccp
Girl Scouts – North Carolina Coastal Pines As one of 112 Girl Scout councils chartered by Girl Scouts of the USA, Girl Scouts – North Carolina Coastal Pines serves over 26,000 girl members and more than 10,000 adult members across 41 central and eastern North Carolina counties. With administrative headquarters in Raleigh, regional service centers in Goldsboro, Fayetteville, and Wilmington, our capacity to support girls and provide relevant and engaging programming continues to grow.
The Girl Scout Gold Award Since 1916, Girl Scouts have successfully answered the call to Go Gold, an act that indelibly marks them as accomplished members of their communities and the world. The Girl Scout Gold Award stands for excellence and leadership for girls everywhere, and is the highest and most prestigious achievement in Girl Scouting. When a Girl Scout embarks on her award journey, she commits to take action and create a lasting change in her community. She demonstrates significant leadership, planning, networking and organizational skills as she spends, on average, one to two years working to complete her Gold Award project. Awarded to fewer than six percent of Girl Scouts annually, girls who earn the Girl Scout Gold Award join generations of young women who have made a difference in their communities both locally and globally. In recognition of their achievements, Gold Awardees who join the armed services enter at one rank higher than other recruits. Girl Scouts – North Carolina Coastal Pines congratulates each of our 2014 Girl Scout Gold Award recipients for achieving their goals and earning this distinguished honor.
Girl Scouting’s Highest Award
Since the Council unification which established Girl Scouts – North Carolina Coastal Pines in 2007, 433 Girl Scout Seniors and Ambassadors have achieved the highest award in Girl Scouting. Girl Scouts – North Carolina Coastal Pines takes great pride in recognizing the outstanding accomplishments of the 66 young women who earned the Girl Scout Gold Award in 2014. Hats off to all of our award recipients for demonstrating courageous leadership, advocacy and compassion and taking action to make a difference in the world.
Steps to the Gold Award
Fulfilling the requirements for the Girl Scout Gold Award starts with the completion of two Girl Scout Senior or Ambassador Journeys; or having earned the Girl Scout Silver Award and completing one Senior or Ambassador Journey. After the Journey requirement has been fulfilled, girls spend a suggested minimum of 80 hours of work and service towards their Gold Award projects, which includes these steps: • Identifying an issue • Investigating it thoroughly • Inviting others to participate and building a team • Creating a plan • Presenting the plan to the Gold Award Committee • Gathering feedback • Taking action • Educating and inspiring others
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2014 Girl Scout Gold Award Recipients Kathryn Marie Alexander
Callie Elizabeth Fry
Emma Morris
Trisha Angelique Apple
Jessica Gray
Sarah Alice Morrow
Courtney Michelle Baptiste
Laura Gray
Kaila Nasser
Rosemary Barbour
Breanna Grim
Elizabeth Needham
Cassidy Cheyenne Marie Barker
Shannon Hall
Alisha Palekar
Sonali Biswas
Natalie Rae Hardin
Ami Patel
Kelly Cecelia Brown
Kelly Lynn Harrings
Kashauna Pointer
Christian Kee Byrnes
Alexandra Harrison
Michaela Price
Rachel Susanne Campbell
Caroline Heathcoat
Arunima Punjala
Emily Camplejohn
Lillian Clare Howie
Payden Reed
Samantha Ruth Childers
Ashley Johnson
Caitlin Rogers
Mary Kaitlyn Collins
Abigail Kalainikas
Johanna Elizabeth Schaaper
Evelyn Lucille Conrad
Gwen Krause
Natalie Marie Scott
Ashley Cummings
Mary Glenn Krause
Casey Nicole Sparks
Kaytlin Currie
Yelim Lee
Maya Sproelich
Mary Daley
Lillie Rebecca Malpass
Erica Lynn Straka
Victoria Lorren Daniels
Sarah Elizabeth Mariani
Rebecca Lawrence Tibbetts
Emily Bennett Dawkins
Meredith Grace McNamee
Anna Twiddy
Madeline Isabel De Figueiredo
Claudia Mesa
Macy Leanne Weeks
Anna Deen
Allison Kay Meyer
Breia Monet White
Rebecca Ennis Dietrich
Emily Miller
Devon Marie Wilson
Heather Elliot
Thelia Shea Miller
Alyssa Daphne Xouris
2014 Recipients 3
Kathryn Marie Alexander Chapel Hill, Orange County
Project: Blood Drive Toolbox Issue: Blood Donations Kathryn recognized that there was a need for more blood donations in her local community. Through her project, she aimed to educate the public as well as inspire others to organize blood drives to help stock both local and global banks across the world. The first part of her project involved organizing and leading her own blood drive. She then learned the skills necessary to build a website and created a user-friendly site with facts on the importance of donating blood, the process of giving blood, and step by step instructions for how to organize and run a blood drive.
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Trisha Angelique Apple Ash, Brunswick County Project: Calcium Challenge Issue: Bone Health
Inspired by her great-grandmother who suffered from osteoporosis and broke bones easily, Trisha’s project aimed to educate children about the importance of calcium to the body. She researched the disease thoroughly learning about the human body and the effect of calcium on the bones. Armed with her knowledge, Trisha created a lesson plan and presentation for preschool children about calcium and healthy bones. Her presentation included posters and display boards visually appealing to young children. She also left information tubes with the students so they could revisit what they learned and stay on the path of healthy living.
Courtney Michelle Baptiste Chapel Hill, Orange County Project: Learning how to work with People with Disabilities Issue: Disability Awareness
Courtney worked to educate childcare and customer service staff about children with disabilities. She found that many providers and youth-oriented group leaders did not have special training for serving this diverse population. In response, she created a presentation which she shared with childcare providers in her community. The presentation shared information on the categories of disabilities, the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act, proper terminology, and a question and answer session. She also included activities that helped participants recognize challenges faced by children with disabilities, helping teach others how to better include and serve all children.
Rosemary Barbour
Raleigh, Wake County Project: Not Just Any Fowl But an Owl Issue: Screech Owl Conservation As a result of habitat loss due to deforestation that removes old trees, Rosemary decided to address the need for screech owl nesting places. Her goal was to educate the public about the owls and their habitat, and to provide safe nesting spaces for the owls. She built nesting boxes and placed them around Harris Lake. She also created brochures that contain instructions for building a nesting box, as well as information about why owl habitats are disappearing. The nesting boxes will also provide valuable data to scientists. The screech owl is counted annually and officials will check the nesting boxes to help determine bird migration numbers.
Cassidy Cheyenne Marie Barker
Southport, Brunswick County Project: New Drew Cemetery Issue: Historic Cemetery Restoration Cassidy organized a clean-up and restoration of New Drew Cemetery in Winnabow. This was a complex project involving extensive research on the ownership of the cemetery, location of graves, and the sensitive history surrounding the burial sites of slave owners, members of their families, and former slaves. She worked to renovate the cemetery and properly identify the gravesites to preserve the cemetery for the future. Upon completion of her project, the ownership of the land was properly documented, the cemetery was cleaned up, and family members of those buried at the cemetery formed a committee for future care of the property.
Sonali Biswas
Raleigh, Wake County Project: Tutoring Students in Need Issue: Math Education Sonali’s project helped to address concerns surrounding the quality and success of mathematics education in the United States. Drawing from her personal experience of attending a math tutoring center, Sonali created a volunteer tutor program for her local Mathnasium Learning Center. She recognized that typical classes consist of one tutor and four students, but some students needed more individual attention as they were sometimes distracted by other students at their table. Her volunteer program allowed these students the extra one-on-one experience they needed, without raising their fees. To give her project the element of sustainability, she recruited and trained volunteers who are willing and able to continue tutoring. 2014 Recipients 5
Kelly Cecelia Brown
Raleigh, Wake County Project: Art That Shows We Care Issue: Art Education With the goal of providing children with an opportunity to create art and inspiring them to continue creating, Kelly developed the Art That Shows We Care program. She organized and led several art camps at elementary schools, a community center, and for children in her neighborhood. She also took a mission trip to El Paso, Texas, and led art camps for Spanish speaking students. The projects she led with the children included murals, cards, flower pots, mobiles, place mats, and blankets. The completed art projects were delivered to children in hospitals, members of the military, and participants of Meals on Wheels in her local community.
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Christian Kee Byrnes
Apex, Wake County Project: E-liminate E-Waste Issue: Electronics Recycling For her project, Christian focused on the proper disposal of electronic waste (e-waste). To prepare for her project she did extensive research and took a tour of a recycling facility specializing in e-waste. She noticed an overall lack of knowledge about the dangers of improper e-waste disposal and set out to educate her peers on this important environmental issue. Christian made presentations at Apex High School and Panther Creek High School about the need to recycle e-waste rather than throwing it out to eventually end up in landfills. She also organized an e-waste drive and collected large amounts of waste which she ensured was properly recycled.
Rachel Susanne Campbell Cary, Wake County
Project: Cary Action and Relief Effort Issue: Appalachian Poverty Through a series of workshops, Rachel worked to raise awareness among her peers about poverty in the Appalachian region. She provided facts and statistics about poverty in the region and showed the participants simple ways in which they could help. She worked closely with the Family Resource Youth Service Center in Jackson, Kentucky, and collected over 600 pounds of clothing, school supplies, and canned goods to donate to the organization. In order to support the ongoing needs across this region, Rachel took steps to ensure the C.A.R.E. project will continue through her church and its Youth ActionTask Force.
Emily Camplejohn
Samantha Ruth Childers
Mary Kaitlyn Collins
Recognizing that some children require additional one on one help with their school work, Emily created Homework Helpers. She developed this program to assist children at the Brentwood Boys and Girls Club with their homework after school. Her goal was to reach out to the children whose parents were unable to provide after school assistance. Emily sought to improve the students’ academic skills as well as their confidence. In addition to working with the children at the Boys and Girls Club, she created a brochure about the Homework Helpers program to ensure the project could easily be replicated by other Girl Scouts or church groups.
Knowing the value of music as an important aspect of a child’s education, Samantha teamed with The Carying Place to bring music education to underprivileged children. She developed a series of music education classes to present to children that exposed them to different styles of music, various instruments, music theory, and singing. Through the use of crafts, games, videos, and live music, Samantha introduced the students to music from a variety of cultures and various genres. In order to facilitate the replication of her program for other groups, she videotaped each lesson and provided a written lesson plan to The Carying Place.
Inspired by the desire to give back to military members and their families, Mary Kaitlyn sought to educate her community about Fisher House. This support organization operates homes that provide lodging and services to the families of patients receiving medical care at military and VA medical centers. There are 64 Fisher Houses across the U.S. and two in North Carolina; one at Camp Lejeune and one at Ft. Bragg. She created fliers and a PSA video to share with the community to help raise awareness about the Fisher House and their services. Her efforts also resulted in a donation of quilts from a group of local quilters.
Raleigh, Wake County Project: Homework Helpers Issue: Academic Support
Cary, Wake County Project: Spread the Music Issue: Music Education
Four Oaks, Johnston County Project: Operation Eagle’s Nest Issue: Military Family Support
2014 Recipients 7
Evelyn Lucille Conrad
Ashley Cummings
Evelyn worked with St. Martin’s Migrant Head Start program to increase the number of books available to the children of migrant farm workers. She collected enough books to create a lending library in the classrooms at the Head Start facility. In addition, she purchased rolling carts for the books and developed a distribution system. Evelyn provided the children with backpacks for their books and created an incentive program to encourage the children to check out books and practice reading. She provided a certificate, a book mark, and a book to each child who reached the reading goals set by the teachers.
Ashley’s project was designed to help children with physical or mental disabilities become more socially integrated and independent with the help of horses. Inspired by the success stories of horses helping children, Ashley took action. She created a sensory trail and built low-level jumps at the Chatham Area Network Therapeutic Riding Program (Can-Tr). With the help of volunteers, she cleared the trail and built stations with activities targeting specific tasks for children with special needs. To ensure that children with physical disabilities were not left out of the benefits of horse therapy, Ashley constructed a ramp that aids children in mounting the horses.
Chapel Hill, Orange County Project: Leer, Apprender, Crecer: Read, Learn, Grow Issue: Childhood Literacy
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Durham, Durham County Project: I Can Can-Tr Issue: Therapy for Children with Disabilities
Kaytlin Currie
Lumberton, Robeson County Project: A Beary Improved Garden Issue: School Improvement For her project, Kaytlin cleaned and renovated the Bear Garden at Tanglewood Elementary School and installed a life-size game board in the garden. Her goal was to provide an element of fun and excitement to the school’s learning environment and give the teachers a creative space in which to teach. She prepared lesson plans for each grade level outlining the educational ways the garden and game board could be used. Kaytlin believes that taking learning outside of the classroom will give students a more positive view of school, and will help both students and teachers enjoy themselves while learning.
Mary Daley
Victoria Lorren Daniels
Emily Bennett Dawkins
Inspired during a mission trip to Haiti and witnessing the poor living conditions of orphans, Mary’s project involved sewing dresses for impoverished girls in Haiti. To accomplish her goal, Mary enlisted the help of her classmates. She invited her mission team leader to help present a slide show about the poverty in Haiti. With the help of her project advisor, she gave basic sewing instructions to her classmates and together they constructed dresses from sturdy material to maximize sustainability. Mary partnered with Lifeline Ministries to distribute over 50 dresses. With her project, Mary inspired her classmates to work as a team to accomplish a common goal.
Victoria created a program designed to provide dance education and information on healthy eating habits to children in her community. She designed a week long camp at the Raleigh Girls Club where she engaged the girls in modern dance activities and taught them about the various forms of dance and dance vocabulary. By introducing dance to children, Victoria encouraged them to incorporate exercise into their daily lives. The healthy eating portion of her camp stressed the importance of making healthy choices and explained how to read nutrition labels. Victoria provided recipes for healthy snack options in a booklet provided to each participant.
Emily’s project established a Summer Sunday School program at Hudson Memorial Presbyterian Church. She identified a need at her church for a faith-based program emphasizing community service that would interest children and their families. During her Summer Sunday School program, Emily and the participants made thank you gifts for church staff members and wrote letters to soldiers overseas. She also created a video to share her lessons with other churches and blogged about her progress with the summer program. The success of her project generated support and participation for her church to implement a vacation bible school in future years.
Wake Forest, Wake County Project: Dress Up Haiti Issue: International Poverty
Raleigh, Wake County Project: Fancy Feet & Healthy Eats Issue: Healthy Living
Raleigh, Wake County Project: Engaging Faith for the Future Issue: Faith Education
2014 Recipients 9
Madeline Isabel De Figueiredo
Chapel Hill, Orange County Project: Youth’s Communication in a Globalized World Issue: Cultural Tolerance Madeline’s project addressed cultural tolerance by opening a line of communication between elementary schools in the United States and Lebanon. Observing a lack of education and understanding amongst her peers about the Middle East, she presented lessons on food, religion, art, and traditions of Lebanon to fifth grade students at Estes Hills Elementary School. She coordinated communication between the Estes Hills students and the American Community School in Beirut, Lebanon. In addition to teaching the classes, she kept parents and peers informed via postings on a website she created. Madeline also started a “Global Outreach to the Middle East Club” at her high school. 10 The Girl Scout Gold Award
Anna Deen
Durham, Durham County Project: Historical Touch Baskets Issue: North Carolina History As a volunteer at Duke Homestead, Anna noticed that visitors often wanted to touch and handle the artifacts. However, to ensure preservation, artifacts are not typically handled. For her project, she created touchable displays at the Duke Homestead Historic Site. She created four baskets containing an information packet for adults and children, as well as artifacts and reproductions relevant to the time period. The baskets will be displayed during special events at the homestead and during school group tours. Anna hopes her interactive baskets will inspire visitors to learn more about history and promote a greater understanding of the Duke family’s impact on Durham.
Rebecca Ennis Dietrich
Raleigh, Wake County Project: I am a Farmer Issue: Agricultural Awareness Wanting to increase awareness about the importance of agriculture in our daily lives, Rebecca created a presentation highlighting the connection between farming and the food and products regularly purchased by consumers. Rebecca’s detailed presentation included a slide show demonstrating the life cycle of three major crops – corn, wheat, and soybeans. She also developed literacy activities such as word searches and crossword puzzles to teach farming vocabulary. She presented to students at A.B. Combs Elementary School, Union County Farmers Market, Fall Harvest at Yates County Park, Fall Festival at Union County Agricultural Center, and Wake County Farm Bureau Women’s Committee.
Heather Elliot
Callie Elizabeth Fry
Heather organized a program to make special pillows to provide comfort, both physical and emotional, to breast cancer patients. She taught others, including friends and family members of cancer patients, how to make the pillows and facilitated several pillow making parties. A video promoting her project which provided instructions for making the pillows was created and placed on YouTube. Heather also connected with Fight for 1 in 9, an organization that works to ease the emotional, physical and financial burdens of breast cancer patients, to distribute the pillows. Almost 300 pillows have been donated and the Broughton High School apparel class has taken leadership of this project.
In hopes of promoting unity in a diverse community, Callie created a community garden to provide affordable produce for low-income families in the Oakmont Square Apartment Community. She studied the basics of organic gardening during a three-week Outward Bound course, and then collected gardening supplies and organized residents to install the garden. Callie and the participants met frequently to establish accountability for the garden, so that it would be properly tended. Not only does the garden promotes healthy eating, but it unites residents with a common goal and provides a backdrop for conversations important for health and for the community.
Raleigh, Wake County Project: Pillow Project Issue: Breast Cancer Support
Greenville, Pitt County Project: Gardening Native Issue: Community Gardening
Jessica Gray
Fuquay Varina, Wake County Project: Success with Awesome Guidance (SWAG) Issue: Youth Leadership Skills Jessica recognized a lack of initiative among her peers to take on leadership roles in her community. Through her project, Success with Awesome Guidance (SWAG), she created a day-long seminar for high school students designed to educate and inspire teens to explore more school and community leadership roles. She invited local experts to speak to the group about entrepreneurship, business etiquette, resume writing, interview skills, and team building. Through SWAG, Jessica sought to teach participants skills needed to become effective leaders in their churches, schools, and future careers. She also created an instructional video to share with other youth-serving groups. 2014 Recipients 11
Laura Gray Cary, Wake County Project: Sensory Garden Issue: Caregiver Support For her project, Laura partnered with Horse and Buddy Therapeutic Riding Program to create a sensory garden at their riding facility in Apex. Horse and Buddy provides riding lessons to people with special needs. Laura noticed that families of the program participants are often dealing with stress and busy schedules. She felt families would benefit from a serene place to relax at the facility while their loved one is riding. Gray planted a garden at the gazebo on the grounds that included painted “rock critters,” a hopscotch pattern, herbs, flowers, and birdhouses. To recognize and thank those who helped with the garden, Laura painted stepping stones in their honor.
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Breanna Grim
Goldsboro, Wayne County Project: Promoting Literacy in Today’s Youth Issue: Childhood Literacy Breanna’s project was designed to improve literacy rates and the vocabulary of youth in her community. She decided to take action by ensuring the youth at her local Boys and Girls Club had access to books, and the facility had ample volunteers to read books aloud to the younger children. Breanna provided a small literacy center at the club by stocking two bookshelves with age-appropriate books. She placed book donation bins throughout the county to further build and sustain her project. To give the children extra motivation, Breanna created an electronic system for volunteers to read to the children and lead them in a related activity.
Shannon Hall
Greenville, Pitt County Project: Senior Fair Day Issue: Senior Citizen Recreation Shannon was concerned that senior citizens were becoming less involved in recreational activities and she wanted to plan some fun days to get them excited about participating. For her project, she partnered with the Lucille Gorham Intergenerational Center to organize Senior Fair Days which included lunch, games, prizes, exercises, and art projects for the participants. Shannon found that the groups loved playing bingo and they began interacting well with each other, and in turn, they were able to enjoy more activities together. In order to host future fair days, she provided a binder with instructions for planning to the Lucille Gorham Intergenerational Center.
Natalie Rae Hardin
Elizabethtown, Bladen County Project: The Power of Art and Sports Issue: Art and Recreational Therapy For her project, Natalie partnered with The Boys and Girls Home of North Carolina at Lake Waccamaw to develop camps for the children residing at the home. Natalie learned that recreational therapy and art therapy are two identified ways to help young people build self-esteem, feel valued as part of a team, and express themselves in a healthy way. She developed and conducted an art camp, soccer camp, and baseball camp for the children. In addition, Natalie compiled a booklet of the activities for the camps and donated the supplies needed for the continuation and replication of her program.
Kelly Lynn Harrings
Alexandra Harrison
To create a safer environment for kittens and help ease the work load of shelter volunteers, Kelly partnered with Second Chance Pet Adoptions, a local no-kill animal shelter. First, she renovated the kitten room and built a raised walkway to allow the kittens safe climbing and exploration. It was also important to Kelly that her project would make the cat adoption process easier and more accessible. She donated a tablet to the shelter which displays pictures of the available cats and allows potential adopters to easily search for a pet. This technology will also allow adopters to submit the necessary adoption forms electronically.
In an effort to improve the low literacy rates in her community, Alexandra designed and conducted Family Read workshops and hosted literacy activities at a local Harvest Festival. At these events, families and children made their own books. Alexandra would read a book aloud to them and they would play a bingo game based on the book. Alexandra’s project was shared through a Literacy Volunteer website, local newspapers, and an interview with her local news station. Her project focused on making reading more engaging and fun for children, and her passion and enthusiasm helped to create access to and increase awareness of literacy.
Cary, Wake County Project: Shelter Renovation for Second Chance Pet Adoptions Issue: Animal Welfare
Greenville, Pitt County Project: Family Read Issue: Literacy
2014 Recipients 13
Caroline Heathcoat
Fuquay Varina, Wake County Project: Bird Perches Issue: Birds of Prey Rehabilitation Birds of prey are crucial to local ecosystems, but those who cohabitat in developed areas, are often injured. Wanting to see more rehabilitated birds returned to the wild, Caroline partnered with CLAWS Wildlife Rehabilitation to build bird perches for their facility. Using her woodworking skills, she experimented with various plans and built several wooden bird perches. She also created written instructions and computer drawings for the assembly of the perches so more could be made in the future. To increase exposure, Caroline also coordinated the release of a hawk at Bass Lake and gave a speech about her bird perch project.
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Lillian Clare Howie Fayetteville, Cumberland County Project: A Visit to the Child Advocacy Center Issue: Child-Centered Support Lillian visited the Child Advocacy Center (CAC) in Fayetteville to learn about their services and determine how she could offer support. Children referred to the CAC are experiencing a difficult time in their lives and may be frightened on their first visit. Lillian worked with The Junior League of Fayetteville to publish a booklet for elementary school children and a booklet for middle school children. The booklets, written and illustrated by Lillian, explain on a child’s level what happens at the Child Advocacy Center. She also created an e-booklet that can be viewed online and downloaded for future use.
Ashley Johnson
Jacksonville, Onslow County Project: Diabetic Care Boxes Issue: Childhood Diabetes Inspired from her personal experiences with diabetes, Ashley created 150 diabetic care boxes for children newly diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. She coordinated with Vidant Health Medical Center to provide the care boxes to children admitted to the facility. The care boxes included an informational CD and pamphlet about high and low blood sugar, a gel bracelet, a food log notebook, and various snacks for emergency use to raise blood sugar. She also created a YouTube video to show others that her project could be replicated in their communities. The boxes also helped children understand the many lifestyle changes necessary to help manage this medical condition.
Abigail Kalainikas
Gwen Krause
Abigail began her project with the intention of providing daily necessities to children overseas. To solicit donations, she created flyers, visited local businesses, spoke to Girl Scout troops, and talked to elementary schools. She collected enough donations to fill two storage units and worked with Fisherman’s Relief to find a worthy organization in the United States for the contributed items. It was identified a number of children needed assistance in North Dakota. In turn, she donated clothes, medical supplies, hygiene items, and books to an Indian reservation that has been stricken with poverty.
Working with her church youth group, Gwen built oversized lawn board games for use during youth group meetings. Her goal was to bring her peers together and provide a welcoming atmosphere for fun and friendship prior to the youth group’s formal meetings. In addition to building the games, which included chess and pick-up sticks, Gwen created short lessons on community, friendship, and serving with a purpose that coordinated with the games. With the hope of creating an impact beyond her own youth group, Gwen created folders with the lessons and building instructions to share with other churches and youth organizations.
Holly Springs, Wake County Project: Small Medium Transport Program Issue: Clothing for Children in Need
Morrisville, Wake County Project: Youth Group Bonding Games Issue: Teen Recreation
Mary Glenn Krause
Raleigh, Wake County Project: Getting Jiggy With It! Issue: Healthy Living Mary’s goal for her project was to teach children the importance of daily exercise and healthy eating choices. She created a program called Getting Jiggy With It, which uses Irish dance as a creative way to teach children about exercise and nutrition. Drawing from her own love of Irish dance, she taught lessons in dance and nutrition to children at PLM-Families Together in Wake County. To encourage sustainability of her program, she drafted shareable lesson plans for other organizations to implement the program. Additionally, Mary wrote and illustrated the book If You Give Some Monsters Dance Shoes, which incorporated drawings by the participants in her program.
2014 Recipients 15
Yelim Lee
Cary, Wake County Project: Arts, Crafts, and Murals Issue: Therapeutic Art For her project, Arts, Crafts and Murals, Yelim designed a program to help children being served by the Ronald McDonald House of Chapel Hill. The House provides families with seriously ill or injured children the basic necessities and comforts of home. With the assistance of the Raleigh Charter Art Club, she designed her project to help children release the stress that comes from the lack of control they experience with their illness. Yelim observed the children smiling, engaged in their work, and looking forward to future art projects. For a short time, the children were able to take their minds off their worries and focus on their art work.
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Lillie Rebecca Malpass
Hallsboro, Columbus County Project: Operation Gratitude Issue: Veteran Appreciation For her project, Lillie interviewed veterans from World War II, Vietnam, and an active duty service member stationed in Afghanistan. She produced a video of the interviews which was featured at the Lake Waccamaw Community’s Fourth of July celebration. Lillie also put up a display table at her church’s vacation bible school kickoff with photos of members of the church in their military uniforms. Veterans from the church were presented wreaths made by one of the bible school classes. In an effort to preserve the stories the veterans shared, Lillie compiled a notebook with a written transcript of the interviews. Her project goal was to ensure that the stories of veterans and the current experiences of active duty military members are not lost.
Sarah Elizabeth Mariani Pembroke, Robeson County Project: Gift of Life Issue: Blood Donation With the hope of increasing local participation in blood drives, Sarah’s project helped to educate her local community about blood donation. Her goal was to inform the community about the importance of donating blood, while also providing information about the process. Often, knowing what to expect in advance helps reduce the fear some may have about donating. She presented an informational presentation about blood donation to approximately 300 people throughout the course of her project. Through her Gift of Life blood drive, Elizabeth was also able to contribute 30 units of blood to the American Red Cross.
Meredith Grace McNamee
Claudia Mesa
Meredith’s project encourages children and adults to learn more about the many famous persons buried at Historic Oakwood Cemetery and the roles they played in local and national history. She noticed the historic cemetery did not have organized tours or educational programs for children, so in turn, she helped organize five tours for the cemetery’s Smartphone application. Designing each of the tours for a specific audience, one was created specifically for fourth graders who study state history as part of the N.C. social studies curriculum. Her project is helping to educate visitors of all ages about the prominent historical figures laid to rest at Oakwood.
Claudia worked with the Wake Interfaith Hospitality Network (WIHN), which maintains a day center for homeless citizens to eat, shower, get mail, store belongings, do laundry, and receive case management services. Her goal was to offer the children at the center a structured and fun learning environment. She began volunteering at the day center and provided tutoring, friendship, and advice as the children needed. Through donations, Claudia put together twelve baskets filled with books and activity ideas to be placed in the residential apartments. She also created a binder with educational worksheets for the day center so others could use them.
Cary, Wake County Project: Historic Oakwood Cemetery Tour Issue: Local History Appreciation
Cary, Wake County Project: Tutoring and Reading at Day Center Issue: Homeless Children
Allison Kay Meyer
Raleigh, Wake County Project: Illiteracy in America Issue: Literacy Awareness Allison tackled the issue of illiteracy in her community with a goal of educating youth and inspiring them to take action about this important issue. She tapped in to her talents as a soccer player by offering free youth soccer clinics to girls, who in turn, donated books and other items to her cause. She then gave the donations to Read and Feed, a non-profit organization in Cary, North Carolina, which provides low income students with extra help and practice with reading. Allison also created brochures with facts and statistics about illiteracy and information on the Read and Feed organization for community distribution.
2014 Recipients 17
Emily Miller
Raleigh, Wake County Project: Cost Efficient STEM Activities for Kids Issue: STEM Education Inspired by the Girl Scouts’ Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) initiative and her love of science, Emily developed a STEM program for elementary and middle school students from low-income families. The program consisted of several activities including a DNA bracelet and making ice cream in a bag. Emily offered her program to three non-profit organizations in her community that served her target audience. She led science activities for over 100 children at the Boys and Girls Club of Wake Forest, PLM Families Together, and Wake Interfaith Hospitality Network. She also created an educational resource for each participant with instructions for activities to do at home with easy to find supplies.
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Thelia Shea Miller
Richlands, Onslow County Project: Princess Dream Project Issue: Dance Education Thelia created the Princess Dream Project to provide free dance lessons to young girls who could not otherwise afford the lessons. She spent twelve weeks teaching dance to elementary and middle school students, including ballet, tap, and jazz dance techniques. Thelia choreographed dances to Disney songs while teaching the girls the dances and performance techniques. She then gave the girls a full recital experience by designing and making costumes, providing make-up artists for a polished look, and a professional photographer to capture moments from the event. Through the course of the project, she realized it was her dream to choreograph and teach dance to children.
Emma Morris
Rougemont, Orange County Project: Keeping Kids Safe – How to Prevent and Respond Issue: Childhood Health and Safety Emma’s project educated students on common childhood accidents, such as drowning and falls from bikes. She addressed the prevention of accidents and the proper response to accidents, including CPR. She presented her Keeping Kids Safe – How to Prevent and Respond program to over 100 students at Cameron Park School, as well as Girl Scout and Boy Scout troops. Emma also teamed with the American Red Cross to promote fire safety using door hangers to remind homeowners of the importance of smoke detectors. Through her work, she also helped teachers fulfill a new teaching requirement related to personal and consumer health.
Sarah Alice Morrow
Kaila Nasser
Elizabeth Needham
Sarah’s Notes from the Heart program provided underprivileged middle school students with musical instruments for their band or orchestra class. Sarah had recognized that some students could not afford musical instruments and were missing out on an opportunity to participate in band or orchestra. In response, she solicited donated instruments which she then worked to refurbish. Once she had enough instruments, she allowed students to check them out from the program and use them for music class. Sarah felt one of the most successful aspects of her project was being able to recycle instruments and give them a second chance at making beautiful music.
Kaila became concerned that it was not a requirement to have a medical kit available for athletes during sporting events at the middle school level. She took action by assembling medical kits for the athletic departments of the three middle schools that feed into Southern Wayne High School. Kaila also prepared a presentation on the need for medical kits at middle school sporting events. This presentation was shared with the principals of each school to encourage them to continue providing a stocked medical kit for their athletic program. Kalia also enlisted the schools’ Parent Advisory Council (PAC) which will continue the maintenance of the medical kits.
Elizabeth was concerned about the decline of the habitat and food sources for pollinators as a result of urbanization and pesticides. She took action by planting flower beds at The Making Pitt Fit Community Garden where she carefully designed garden beds to both attract and feed bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, and other pollinators. In addition to creating the pollinator beds, she gave a presentation to students at her school to help increase their awareness. Elizabeth also created posters to share information about the scientific importance of pollinators and the factors contributing to their decline. Her project helped to demonstrate simple ways anyone can help protect pollinators.
Greenville, Pitt County Project: Notes from the Heart Issue: Music Education
Goldsboro, Wayne County Project: Athletic Medical Kits Issue: Sports Safety
Greenville, Pitt County Project: Feeding the Bees Issue: Pollinator Conservation
2014 Recipients 19
Alisha Palekar
Cary, Wake County Project: Sunscreen Saves! Issue: Skin Cancer Prevention Alisha’s project focused on debunking the myths surrounding sun exposure and the risk of skin cancer. She worked to provide education on how to protect skin from damage that can lead to skin cancer and designed her presentation with young children in mind. Her project emphasized that the earlier one is armed with knowledge, the better chance they have of protecting themselves. Alisha also created an informational brochure and posters which included facts about skin cancer. To maximize the reach of her project, she provided brochures to her youth group to be distributed at future summer camps and displayed the posters at community pools.
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Ami Patel
Kashauna Pointer
Ami worked with The Carying Place to organize a safety program for children of families living in homeless shelters. The Carying Place provides homeless families with temporary shelter and life skill coaching. Her goal was to provide the young residents with valuable safety lessons. For a period of ten weeks, she presented classes on topics such as stranger interaction, water safety, bullying, and first aid. Ami provided the children with practical advice on protecting themselves and instilled in them the confidence to deal with challenging situations. She ensured sustainability by creating a binder for the activities director at the facility so the lessons could be continued.
After learning Lupus patients in Durham County were traveling too far to receive the support they needed, Kashauna helped establish and organize a support group in Durham. She educated herself on Lupus by attending the Lupus Summit in Charlotte. In addition, she researched the illness and participated in monthly teleconferences to discuss Lupus and its impact. She organized the support group meetings, invited guest speakers to attend, and presided over the meeting herself. Through her efforts, it is now possible for people thriving with Lupus to come together, talk, and learn about the issues they are living with while meeting with professionals.
Cary, Wake County Project: Safety Program for Homeless Children Issue: Childhood Safety
Durham, Durham County Project: Durham Lupus Support Group Issue: Lupus Support
Michaela Price
Arunima Punjala
Michaela created the Celebrating Abilities booklet and website to educate the public about the special needs community and to recruit new volunteers. Her project was inspired by her work with Miracle League of The Triangle, a baseball league for special needs athletes, and an organization that was also needing volunteers. By increasing awareness and debunking the many false assumptions about the special needs community, she hoped to encourage more to get involved. In the booklet and on the website, she thoroughly explains several disorders, including Autism and Auditory Processing Disorder, and was able to highlight the achievements of individuals with special needs through included photography.
For her project, Smiles for a Change, Arunima created a program that provides dental hygiene kits to women and children served by the Women’s Center of Wake County. Each kit contained a toothbrush, toothpaste, floss, and a guide to teach proper dental care. Educational materials included in the kits address common dental hygiene problems and provide information about where to find affordable dental care centers. Arunima designed her project to combat a lack of resources and awareness about dental hygiene. She also created a sustainability information packet for the Women’s Center to give direction to other volunteers hoping to pursue this project themselves.
Knightdale, Wake County Project: Celebrating Abilities Issue: Diversity and Inclusion
Morrisville, Wake County Project: Smiles for a Change Issue: Dental Hygiene
Payden Reed
Cary, Wake County Project: Volunteer Utilization Improvement Issue: Hospice Volunteers Payden learned that Hospice of Wake County had many volunteers in their system who wanted to share their time, but had not yet been paired with a patient. She took action by updating and organizing the volunteer database in a way that volunteers could easily and efficiently be found and paired appropriately with patients needing care or companionship. She began by contacting over 400 listed Hospice volunteers. She updated each volunteer record and then entered the information into a spreadsheet organized by the volunteers’ location and available times. The new data system now allows staff members to easily locate a volunteer for specific places and times, saving valuable resources. 2014 Recipients 21
Caitlin Rogers
Wake Forest, Wake County Project: Girls in Science Issue: STEM Education Caitlin sought to increase interest in science careers among middle school girls in Wake Forest by developing Girls in Science. Her program highlighted the achievements of many female scientists and taught the participants about different science fields in a fun and exciting format. Caitlin explained that certain fields of science like biology and nursing were increasing their numbers of women, while other fields like physics and computer science continued to be predominantly male. She believes it is important to expose young girls to a variety of science fields so that they will not be limited to only the ones traditionally chosen by women.
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Johanna Elizabeth Schaaper
Durham, Durham County Project: Butterfly Harvest Issue: Butterfly Conservation Johanna addressed the issue of the declining pollinator population and focused her project on the Monarch butterfly. She set up informational booths at the South Durham Farmer’s Market and two other environmental festivals. From the booths, she spoke to over 200 people about the decline of the butterfly population and handed out informational flyers explaining easy ways to help. Johanna passed out seed packets and plants that will help attract the butterflies and educated the public on the best varieties of plants and flowers to use in a butterfly garden. She also planted a large garden at The Good Samaritan Inn at The Durham Rescue Mission.
Natalie Marie Scott
Pinehurst, Moore County Project: Books for Kids Issue: Childhood Literacy Exposure to books and reading at home is an essential part of a child’s development and Natalie hoped to provide low income families with access to a variety of books. She partnered with the Food Pantry in Moore County to collect and distribute over 500 books to underprivileged children. She personally distributed the books to children at the Food Pantry and also included information for parents on the importance of reading to children. Natalie explained that reading books to children promotes a love of reading and helps prepare children for school. To ensure her program continued, she enlisted other local Girl Scout troops to organize future book drives.
Casey Nicole Sparks
Mount Olive, Wayne County Project: Therapeutic Art Issue: Art Education for Special Needs Students When she learned that the students in the exceptional children’s life skills class did not have the opportunity to participate in a separate art class, Casey decided to take action. She developed therapeutic art lessons that involved painting, crafts, drawing, and making collages. After collecting donated art supplies, she began teaching the lessons during the students’ self-contained classes. Casey donated the art materials and made a binder of lesson plans to allow other art students the opportunity to continue the lessons. She also created an informational flyer about the use and benefit of therapeutic art in high school special needs classes.
Maya Sproelich
Cary, Wake County Project: Waste Management and Air Pollution Issue: Environmental Conservation Maya partnered with Hemlock Bluffs Nature Preserve in Cary, to educate the public about the harmful effects of waste sent to landfills and how to reduce that waste. She built compost bins and created an informational board about composting for the preserve. She also organized Table Days as a means of informing the public about the benefits of composting, highlighting that this environmental practice results in free fertilizer after approximately nine months. Maya explained that composting is a solution that can help cleanse the environment. Hemlock Bluffs now owns the compost bins and will help sustain Maya’s project.
Erica Lynn Straka
Wilmington, New Hanover County Project: Salvation Army Emergency Children’s Play Shelter Issue: Homelessness Erica learned the majority of the Salvation Army’s financial resources for their shelter are utilized for food and housing expenses, leaving little left to maintain the children’s play area. For her project, she took action and renovated the children’s playground at the shelter. Her goal was to create a warm, relaxing and stress free area for the children. Erica secured the donation of a play set, swings, and a seesaw. After refurbishing the donated equipment, she planted new bushes and added mulch to the play area. She also added a potted herb garden, watering hose, and outdoor riding toys, and spent time playing with the children.
2014 Recipients 23
Rebecca Lawrence Tibbetts
Anna Twiddy
Macy Leanne Weeks
Concerned with the recreational health of older populations, Rebecca found studies have shown that regular participation by senior citizens in activities helps them maintain a better quality of life. For her project, she renovated the craft room at Independence Village, a senior living community. The renovation included sanding cabinets, painting, and organizing craft supplies in bins. In an effort to involve the community, Rebecca held an arts and crafts supply drive to stock the craft room. After selecting activities appropriate and interesting for older adults, she facilitated craft projects with residents. She also compiled a book of activities that will live in the craft room at Independence Village.
For her project, Anna cleaned the grounds of the cemetery located on the property of her school, Trinity Academy of Raleigh. She noticed that the upkeep of the cemetery had been neglected over the years and after consulting with her headmaster and the adjoining neighborhood association, Anna took on the task of clearing the debris. To ensure that the cemetery would not become neglected in the future, she publicized her work in the school newspaper. As a result of her encouragement, the Beta Club at Trinity Academy agreed to continue the maintenance of the cemetery by clearing it once a semester.
With the goal of introducing basic music skills to young children, Macy partnered with Rhyme University to provide a music camp to daycare participants. Macy believes that the love of music can be spread in any language or culture. She used percussion instruments to teach basic notes, rhythm, and music techniques. She demonstrated her music skills and also invited guest musicians to the classes. In addition to the lessons, she created a video and created a music library with donated instruments, music books, and appropriate storage for the daycare. At the end of the program, the children proudly showed off their new skills with a performance.
Raleigh, Wake County Project: Let’s Get Crafty Issue: Senior Citizen Recreation
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Raleigh, Wake County Project: Cemetery Clean-Up Issue: Cemetery Preservation
Goldsboro, Wayne County Project: Making Marvelous Music Issue: Music Education
Breia Monet White
Devon Marie Wilson
Alyssa Daphne Xouris
Breia focused on honoring veterans in her community for her project and organized a recognition ceremony at Antioch Bible Fellowship Church. She also visited local nursing and retirement facilities to hold ceremonies for the resident veterans during which she presented them with certificates of recognition. Breia hosted bingo games, cooked meals, offered assistance and companionship, and shopped for the veterans. She also created and distributed a resource guide for veterans including contact information for veteran’s organizations in the community, as well as a resource guide for youth and other volunteers interested in helping veterans at retirement facilities.
Devon designed her project in response to concerns about declining literacy in the United States and reduced educational funding. She partnered with the See Spot Read program and Endeavor Charter School to help elementary school students improve their confidence, reading comprehension and ability by using therapy dogs as reading partners. Her project also included training and certifying a therapy dog for reading programs. She created a blog documenting the project to encourage others to start similar programs. Devon also secured an article in an American Kennel Club publication to create awareness for the See Spot Read organization and highlight how therapy dogs can help to spark a child’s interest in reading.
For her project, Alyssa worked with Holy Trinity of Raleigh, a Greek Orthodox Church, to document and preserve the rich history of her faith community. After interviewing parishioners, she wrote and published a sixty-page book containing three major sections: Where We’ve Been, Where We Are, and Where We’re Going. Alyssa donated forty copies of her book to Holy Trinity and sent copies to surrounding Greek Orthodox churches, encouraging them to create similar projects. In order to maintain a link to the past, the book is filled with quotes, a timeline, interviews, and hundreds of pictures outlining the history of the church and what it has to offer.
Raleigh, Wake County Project: Honoring Our Veterans Issue: Veteran Support
Raleigh, Wake County Project: Paw Pals Issue: Literacy
Cary, Wake County Project: Holy Trinity Book of Reflections Issue: Church History Preservation
2014 Recipients 25
Girls often partner with community organizations when working on their Gold Award projects. The following organizations were reported to play a part in the Girl Scout Gold Award projects awarded in 2014. American Red Cross Antioch Bible Fellowship Church Apex High School Boys and Girls Club of Wake Forest Boys and Girls Home of NC at Lake Waccamaw Brentwood Boys and Girls Club
Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church of Raleigh Horse and Buddy Therapeutic Riding Program Hospice of Wake County Hudson Memorial Presbyterian Church
Panther Creek High School PLM Families Together Raleigh Charter Art Club Raleigh Girls Club Ronald McDonald House of Chapel Hill Read and Feed
Independence Village
Rhyme University
Junior League of Fayetteville
Salvation Army shelter
Lifeline Ministries
Second Chance Pet Adoptions
Literacy Volunteers – Pitt County
See Spot Read
Lucille Gorham Intergenerational Community Center
Southern Wayne High School
Durham Rescue Mission
Lupus Foundation of America (NC Chapter)
Tanglewood Elementary School
Endeavor Charter School
Making Pitt Fit Community Garden
Estes Hill Elementary School
Mathnasium Learning Center
Fight for 1 in 9
The Child Advocacy Center Fayetteville
Miracle League of the Triangle
Fisher House
Trinity Academy
Moore County Food Pantry
Fisherman’s Relief
Vidant Health Medical Center
New Drew Cemetery
Harris Lake County Park
Wake Interfaith Hospitality Network
Oakmont Baptist Church
Hemlock Bluffs Nature Preserve
Women’s Center of Wake County
Oakmont Square Apartment Community
Broughton High School Cameron Park School Chatham Area Network – Therapeutic Riding Program Center CLAWS Wildlife Rehabilitation Duke Homestead Historic Site
Historic Oakwood Cemetery
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St. Martin’s Migrant Head Start The Carying Place
Scholarship Information Jane S. Barringer Award Girl Scout Gold Award recipients are eligible to apply for the Jane S. Barringer Award. This award is a cash scholarship established to honor Mrs. Barringer, an outstanding teen advisor. A group of her former Girl Scouts, along with Girl Scouts – North Carolina Coastal Pines, has instituted an award in her name to be given to an individual who embodies the principles and spirit “Mrs. B” works to instill. Mrs. Barringer was recently recognized for 50 years of membership in Girl Scouting. Misty Crabtree Eastham Memorial Scholarship The Misty Crabtree Eastham Endowment was established to honor the memory of lifelong Girl Scout, Misty Crabtree Eastham, and provides scholarships for Gold Award recipients to help defray college expenses. As a girl in foster care who earned her Girl Scout Gold Award, Misty felt that Girl Scouting had a tremendous impact on her life and provided opportunities that she may never have had a chance to pursue. This scholarship embodies Misty’s sense of selflessness, generosity, drive and determination. For more information about these and other council-sponsored scholarships, please visit the council website at www.nccoastalpines.org.
The Girl Scout Gold Award 27
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Board of Directors
Members
Girl Board Members
Bernadette Spong, Chair
Scottie Bryan
Dymon Atkinson
Jean Carter, First Vice Chair
Wendy Burden
Sarah Bland
Bonnie Hancock, Second Vice Chair
Cheryl Burns
Hillary Jacobs
Valerie Quiett, Third Vice Chair
Linda Foreman
Zara Mehta
Melissa Reed, Fourth Vice Chair
Susan Garrity
Mikayla Sortisio
Jim Peterson, Treasurer
Jenna Green
Danielle ‘Ali’ Woods
Michelle Lewis, Secretary
Karen Hausser Kristen Hess
Lisa M. K. Jones Chief Executive Officer
Manju Karkare Adrian Reeder Marywalker Romanus Karine Stallings
Gold Award Committee
Sue Stevens
Jane Barringer
Marie VanHeusen
Emily Hayne
Frank Westmeyer
Jennifer Jones
Edelmira Segovia
Lori Winkelstein Staff Liaison: Terrica Hay