Gold Award Class of 2024

Girl Scout Gold Award Scholarship Winner Among 2024 Central Maryland Girl Scout Gold Award Recipients

Baltimore- Howard County Girl Scout Kailey Kasbeer-Betty received GSUSA’s $5,000 Gold Award scholarship for her Gold Award project, Blankets for Foster Kids. Fueled by personal experiences, Kailey raised awareness about the trauma faced by children in foster care. #Blanky4u taught people how to make no-sew blankets while educating them about foster closets for foster kids. “I engaged over 150 people to make and deliver over 100 blankets to Mirah’s Closet and Partners for Kids & Families.” Kailey added, “My social media videos and website reached over 11,000 and received supportive comments from foster kids.”  

Another Gold Award recipient, Rachel Spitzer, earned her Girl Scout Gold Award for her book, Tiny Kindness. Rachel created the artwork and story for her book about the impact little acts of kindness can have. In total, 36 local Girl Scouts achieved their goal of earning the prestigious Gold Award, the highest award in Girl Scouting. To read more about each of the Gold Award projects visit the GSCM Facebook page.

Nationally, only 6% of all eligible Girl Scouts attain the Gold Award. To earn the “Gold” girls spend a minimum of 80 hours to develop and implement a service-oriented project that addresses an issue or cause in the community. Along the way, girls develop confidence as well as leadership and team-building skills. In addition to raising awareness about the needs of children in foster care and,  spreading kindness, some of the other topics Girl Scouts’ Gold Award projects focused on were protecting the Chesapeake Bay, providing nutritious recipes for low income families, leveraging Title IX to create an equitable and safe softball field and teaching kids how lunch scraps can be turned into compost. 

Here are the list of 2024 Gold Award recipients by county:

Anne Arundel County:

Annabelle Bamford – Oyster Raising

Aurora Nelson – Book Nook

Caitlin Blackwelder – Living Piece of History: The American Flag

Eliana Feldman – Planting Seeds of Knowledge and Judaism

Keira Hepler – Clever Kids Composting

Lily McCallister – Community Service BarSTEM Night for Girls

Portia Flaherty – Benches for Bacon Ridge

Rachel Spitzer – Tiny Kindness Campaign and book

Baltimore City and Baltimore County:

Amy Heinz – Nature Play Area

Kaelin Baker – Love Yourself/Love Others

Kelsi Martin-Yeboah – Homeless Self -Esteem Project

Madeline Alexander – Leading New Girl Scouts

Olivia Hetherington – Money Moves

Serena Pallan – MyRareDisease

Carroll County:

Julia Ellis – Sources of Strength Posters

Kathryn Martin – Pavers for Puppies

Samantha Rice – Mt. Airy Net

Harford County:

Abigail Saltzer – A Virtual Hike at Eden Mill Nature Center

Ashley Heinbaugh – Improving and Restoring the Ecosystem

Juliana Giglio-Tos – Anna’s House Cooking

Lillian Morrelli – Harford Family House Mural Project

Howard County:

Alasia Ricks – Who Said Kindness Doesn’t Rock?!

Amulya Mandalika – Tackling the “Greenwashing” Business Strategy

Ava Hammer – Safe Softball Fields at MRHS

Anya Thakrur – Baking Kits with the Homeless

Hailyn Lai – Grow it, Eat It: Garden Mural and Information pamphlet.

Julia Chen – Water Quality Education: Savege-ly Defending the Environment!

Kailey Kasbeer-Betty – Blankets for Foster Kids

Lindsey Sands – Raising Change-Makers

Lucy Graber – Conserving and Protecting our Local Bird and Dragonfly Species

Megan Green - Mental Health Awareness

Naomi McKenna – Trailblazing Through Terra

Pavni Deshpande – Communication without Borders

Piper Stephan – Supporting Individuals with Memory Loss and Their Caregivers

Sritanvi Potukanuma – Hygiene Community Workshop

Prince George’s County:

Laurencia Aparin – Ghana Sisterhood Day Camp