Girl Scouts Celebrate 2023 Gold Award Recipients at Annual Gold Gala
July 17, 2023
(Baltimore) Girl Scouts of Central Maryland celebrated 58 Senior and Ambassador Girl Scouts for completing a sustainable service project and earning the coveted Gold Award, the highest award a Girl Scout can earn. As a Gold Award Girl Scout these girls now belong to an elite group; nationally, only 5.4 percent of eligible girls attain this award. “The work, time (at least 80 hours), effort and determination you put toward completing your Gold Award project sets you apart from your peers,” Violet M. Apple, CEO of Girl Scouts of Central Maryland told the girls. Having the Girl Scout Gold Award on their high school transcript or resume can give girls an advantage when it comes to college admissions, scholarship applications, internships, job interviews and military rank.
Eleven local elected officials along with family and Girl Scout mentors and leaders, attended to cheer the girls on and award them with proclamations. State Senators Benjamin Brooks (Baltimore County District 10), Pamela Beidle (Anne Arundel County District 32), Senator Shelly Hettleman (Baltimore County District 11); State Delegates N. Scott Phillips and Jennifer White (Baltimore County District 10), Cheryl Pasteur (Baltimore County District 11A), Sheila Ruth (Baltimore County District 44B), Andre Johnson and Steve Johnson (Harford County District 34A), and District Coordinator Katie Meeks (Baltimore County District 32) were in attendance to support these Gold Award Girl Scouts’ accomplishments.
As reflected in their individual projects Gold Award Girl Scouts have changed their communities and changed their own lives and perspectives while earning the most prestigious award in Girl Scouting. Some of the Gold Award projects girls completed included: teaching 6-12 year olds basic first aid, increasing black and Hispanic high school girls’ exposure to STEM to increase interest and awareness of this field of study and work; a seminar and website to help students improve their creative writing skills; preserving the Chesapeake Bay with oyster reef habitats; raising awareness about gender inequality through a women’s advocacy event; offering classes and making videos to teach girls and women simple self-defense tactics; connecting students with mental health resources; writing a book, The Middle Years, to help girls age 11-14navigate middle school; and, creating learning modules to bridge the STEM learning gap for deaf students.
