Girls Scouts Earn Prestigious Gold Awards
Submitted by Kerry Rokicki
Three accomplished young women were recently awarded the most prestigious award in Girl Scouts. Julia Love, Amanda Newport and Desirée Santos each earned the Gold Award and were honored for their achievements by Girl Scouts of Cranford, Service Unit 48.
“We are extremely proud to honor these young ladies for their hard work and years of dedication to our community,” said Elayna Torsone, service unit manager for the Girl Scouts of Cranford. “Each of their projects makes a positive, lasting impact in our community and they had the extra challenge of volunteering during the pandemic. They each showed a tremendous level of commitment.”
The Girl Scout Gold Award is the highest and most prestigious award that Girl Scout Ambassadors and Seniors can earn and stands for excellence and leadership. Projects require a minimum of 80 hours of work including identifying an issue, investigating it thoroughly, building a team, creating a plan, gathering feedback, taking action, and educating and inspiring others.
Julia Love (Girl Scout Troop 40843) saw a need created by the dynamics of the “stay-at-home” orders and took action. She noticed how religious education programs were affected just like public and private schools. To prevent “backslide” and keep younger students engaged, she developed a Summer Sundays religious education program at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church for students in kindergarten through grade 5. She created lesson plans and trained peers to lead sessions which provided spiritual enrichment. The program can also be turn-keyed at other churches creating a sustainable initiative. Julia is also the recipient of the George N. Boulukos National Scholarship from the Eastern Orthodox Committee on Scouting. She will be attending the University of Pittsburgh in the fall to study special education and developmental psychology.
Amanda Newport (Girl Scout Troop 40480) focused her project on raising awareness of the contributions of local veterans. She created a slide show celebrating 100 years of the Cranford VFW Post #335. She dedicated hours to organizing information on the post’s history and past leaders as well as chronicling the contributions the organization has made to the Cranford community. She also held workshops to educate younger Girl Scouts about the role of the VFW and taught them how to care for the American Flag. The project will serve as an important part of the post’s historical records and will be accessible for many years to come. Amanda will attend the University of New Hampshire in the fall to study zoology.
Desirée Santos (Girl Scout Troop 40113) used her artistic talents to create a webcomic that addresses the challenges often faced by parents of LBGTQ youth, something she felt is overlooked in mainstream discussion. Desirée earned her award the previous year, but due to the pandemic could not be recognized for her achievements in person until recently. In September she will be a sophomore at SCAD, The Savannah College of Art and Design, where she studies animation, storytelling and illustration. The comic is available virtually so it may be easily shared. The link is:webtoons.com/en/challenge/emma/list?title_no=471819
All three young women were honored for their achievements at an awards ceremony held on June 10 at the Cranford United Methodist Church. Mary Grace McNamara of Cranford, Lifetime Girl Scout, served as master of ceremonies. Guest speakers were Cranford Mayor Kathleen Miller Prunty and Natasha Hemmings, CEO of Girl Scouts Heart of New Jersey.
The Girl Scouts of Cranford boasts over 1,139 Girl Scout Members in 71 troops and Juliettes making it one of the largest non-profit organizations in town. The Cranford Service Unit is a part of the Girl Scouts Heart of New Jersey (GSHNJ) Council which is part of the Girl Scouts of the USA. If your family is interested in learning more about local Girl Scouts or to find out more information on the Girls Scouts of Cranford, please visit cranfordgirlscouts.com.
