Gold Award Girl Scouts

Girl Scout Rebecca from Morristown earned the Girl Scout Gold Award for her project: Coming Clean About Cancer.

Rebecca raised awareness about how people care for those with cancer; she created and distributed pamphlets covering the basics of cancer, common treatments and tips, mental health, and lived experiences. Rebecca also utilized social media and held two information sessions to present this information and hold conversations about this important topic. 

Girl Scout Phoebe from Morristown earned the Girl Scout Gold Award for her project: First Aid Squad Reboot.

Phoebe provided essential support to her local volunteer First Aid Squad by redesigning their outdated website with more information regarding how to become a member, donate, or attend a class. An Instagram account was also created in order to reach younger generations and to bring more traffic to the new website. 

Girl Scout Maddie from Sparta earned the Girl Scout Gold Award for her project: Career Decision Readiness for High Schoolers.

Maddie created and organized a Speed Networking Career Fair at her high school, hosting a variety of professionals in different fields. The fair was held during the school day, making it easier for students to attend and learn about career options they may not have been able to otherwise. 

Girl Scout Liani from New Milford earned the Girl Scout Gold Award for her project: It's Time to Log Off.

Liani’s project addresses the issue of screen addiction and anxiety through four educational sessions teaching participants about the harms of excessive screen time, along with a board game night to encourage lowered screen time. Liani also distributed educational pamphlets to over 200 people to help spread awareness about screen addiction.

Girl Scout Kerry from Mahwah earned the Girl Scout Gold Award for her project: Serenity Steps.

Kerry created a mindful labyrinth in her school as a space for her peers to engage in reflection and meditation, encouraging them to take a break from their daily pressures and connect with their thoughts in a peaceful setting. A QR code in the room included mental health resources such as quotes, calming music, and guided breath exercises. 

Girl Scout Isabella from Glen Rock earned the Girl Scout Gold Award for her project: The Coral- A Sensory Room for Children.

Isabella created a Sensory Room in an elementary school for children, particularly those with neurodevelopmental disorders, to help them deal with stress, or needed a place to take their mind off schoolwork. 

Girl Scout Emma from Allendale earned the Girl Scout Gold Award for her project: Bending Back: Empowering Scoliosis Awareness.

Emma created educational videos discussing the symptoms and treatments of scoliosis, along with teaching students how to conduct proper check-ups. Emma met with school nurses in order to implement her educational videos into the health curriculum of two different schools. 

Girl Scout Dana from Lyndhurst earned the Girl Scout Gold Award for her project: Better Environment, Better Tomorrow.

Dana’s project addressed the lack of education about our daily impact on the environment. In order to create awareness, Dana hosted a town-wide cleanup, shared crafts that reused objects that a typically disposed, and made pamphlets educating readers on how they can alter their lifestyle to protect the environment. 

Girl Scout Danielle from Newton earned the Girl Scout Gold Award for her project: Little Readers – Future Leaders.

Danielle’s project addressed the importance of book access and reading in her community. Danielle partnered with local laundromats to set up “Little Laundromat Libraries,” providing a selection of 40 to 50 books for families to read while waiting. The project also held Book Adoption events and a Reading Buddies mentorship program. 

Girl Scout Sofia from Upper Saddle River earned the Girl Scout Gold Award for her project: Sports Empowers Yourself.

Sofia hopes for a more positive sports environment, and to ensure that within her community she educated parents and coaches on positive reinforcement, realistic expectations, and prioritizing enjoyment over competition. Using advice from 17 different athletes, Sofia was able to create an educational video aimed at coaches. 

Girl Scout Erin Rebecca from Hackettstown earned the Girl Scout Gold Award for her project: St. Luke’s Blacktop Playground.

Erin Rebecca felt St. Luke’s preschool lacked a space for children to spend time outside. To help increase the children’s time spent outside, she created a play space with a variety of games for the children to play on. 

Girl Scout Michelle from Pequannock earned the Girl Scout Gold Award for her project: Developing a STEM Sisterhood.

Michelle felt that many young girls were not being introduced to STEM early on. By meeting with various community members, Michelle created a website to showcase her findings along with fliers providing readers with STEM resources. 

Girl Scout Grace from Wyckoff earned the Girl Scout Gold Award for her project: Woman in Business.

Grace created a club to addresses the lack of women in leadership position in the business field. Using her club, she created a safe space for the girls of Ramapo High School to learn about different fields of business, network with leading women in business, and create relationships with other members of the club. 

Girl Scout Kathryn from North Warren earned the Girl Scout Gold Award for her project: Our Veterans’ Stories.

Kathryn honored veterans buried in her local cemetery by locating and identifying veterans and the wars they fought in. Kathryn created a map with the location of the veterans’ graves and marked their grave with a laminated number. 

Girl Scout Emily from Ramsey earned the Girl Scout Gold Award for her project: Grace’s Upper Rooms.

Grace Church was lacking an organization system to their upper rooms, preventing church staff from efficiently accessing the items they need. Emily reshelved and reorganized these upper rooms through donating unused items and installing new shelving and storage units, allowing the Grace church community to have easy access to these rooms and their belongings.  

Girl Scout Alyssa from New Milford earnedthe Girl Scout Gold Award for their project: Pollinators and Permaculture.

Ayssa’s educational presentation and workshops at the New Milford Library addressed the pollinator decline in her community. She discussed the importance of native plants, the dangers and alternatives to pesticides, companion planting, and methods to grow native plants in your own backyard. 

Girl Scout Anna from Ridgewood earned the Girl Scout Gold Award for their project, Tech Savy Seniors: Empowering the Elderly in the Digital Age.

In a technology class, Anna taught seniors in her community various iPhone features by simplifying complex technology. Through handouts with simplistic visuals and step-by-step images, Anna was able to provide guidance for both easy and difficult tasks on the iPhone. Anna also centered part of her classes and pamphlets on accessibility issues such as hearing and vision loss, and taught seniors how to make their iPhones more accessible. 

Girl Scout Alyssa from River Vale earned the Girl Scout Gold Award for her project: Food Allergy Awareness.

Through a presentation and three informative YouTube videos, Alyssa educated her community on what it means to be allergic. She tackled common misconceptions, along with sharing a variety of facts and information on food allergies. She also shared how everyone can do their part in making their community safer for those with allergies, including participating the Teal Pumpkin Project. 

Girl Scout Emily’s courageousness to speak about her own medical journey inspired her project, aimed at giving social support to students who may feel left out due to unexpected absences and challenges. Once a month, Emily sends out care packages to remind students that they are appreciated and missed. 

Girl Scout Maria from Tenafly was our council's recipient of the 2025 GSUSA Gold Award Scholarship for her project: My Missing Playmate. 

Maria curated a collection of children’s picture books to help young children, and their families, begin the difficult conversation around sibling loss—specifically, loss due to stillbirth. Her project addressed the lack of accessible, age-appropriate resources to support children like herself who grow up in families touched by this quiet, often unspoken grief. 

Gold Award Girl Scout Natalia was concerned about how much waste was being produced and disposed of each day at her high school during lunchtimes. She developed her Girl Scout Gold Award take-action project to find a better way of managing the waste. Being a member of the Green Team at West Morris Central High School in Chester, she set out to lead the team to build three compost bins in the school garden and establish a system to collect school food waste. She created a YouTube video and shared her success with the New Jersey Composting Council to promote composting in schools around the state.
Gold Award Girl Scout Shaye addressed the need for adapting toys for children with special needs. She shared what she learned with other Girl Scouts and their families, teaching them how switches work and how to create battery interrupters, so that others would be more aware of this need in the world. Shaye was able to donate 32 altered toys to schools for children with special needs. She even reached out to and met with the marketing and product development team at the Target Corporation to present her ideas for adapting switches on toys.
Gold Award Girl Scout Kareena focused her take-action project on the world water crisis. She studied the water crisis in India, created an educational program for middle-school children, and produced a series of podcasts on the subject entitled, “One Drop at a Time,” during which she interviewed leaders and experts on the issue. She reached out to the Eileen Fisher Corporation to learn more about their work in water conservation and to interview their staff, which availed her of the opportunity to participate at a conference with the company’s Social Consciousness team and create a video presentation that was shown company wide. Kareena also met with students from USKids4Water (USK4W) to plan Hack4Water, a hackathon geared towards immersing students in working to solve water-related issues.
Gold Award Girl Scout Autumn focused her take-action project, Sweating Out the Stigma, on addressing society’s preconceived notions about people with special needs and challenges, particularly among high school students. Autumn created a program that brought children with special needs together with high school students to play Pillo Polo. She recruited and trained student volunteers to help conduct the program. As a result, Autumn discovered that the children involved in the event were learning to work with others, were gaining confidence, and were improving their coordination, while the volunteers were gaining a better understanding of the special needs community and learning to see each person beyond their disability.
Gold Award Girl Scout Gianna addressed the issue of land erosion that is linked to the high mortality rate of sea turtles. With her take-action project, Save Her Eggs (S.H.E.), Gianna created a website and worked to educate the Tuckerton community about the issue, offering advice on how to handle dead or wounded turtles or turtle eggs found in the environment. Throughout the year, and especially prior to nesting season, the Tuckerton Seaport distributes materials containing a QR code that links to her website.
Gold Award Girl Scout Kathryn established Empowerment Hikes for women in the Ramsey area, which she designed to increase the knowledge of women in history. After researching leading women in various fields, including STEM, politics, and local history, Kathryn shared their stories during community hiking trips, as well as promoted the hikes and information on social media and in her school.
Gold Award Girl Scout Emma focused on educating her community about the rich history of Armenia and the current struggles of the country’s people in her take-action project, Learn About Armenia. Being of Armenian heritage, Emma’s project was deeply personal. She created a website that includes interviews with Armenian people and showcases their culture, history, art, religion, and education.
Gold Award Girl Scout Rhea named her take-action project, Removing the Filter, and set out to create a social media movement towards building self-confidence and emotional well-being among pre-teens and teens. She hosted a series of local workshops that promoted body positivity and shared activities that could help girls combat negative self-imagery. Rhea highlighted the gaps in her school’s health curriculum regarding these topics and met with school officials to advocate for integrating mental health and body positivity topics into the school curriculum.
Gold Award Girl Scout Ariel focused her take-action project on the educational needs and rights of students challenged with Dyslexia. She collected and donated learning tools to her local school system and gave presentations to students and parents about available resources to help alleviate the struggles that students dealing with Dyslexia may experience. The Newton Town Council was impressed by her work and issued a proclamation designating October as Dyslexia Awareness Month in town.
Gold Award Girl Scout Hadley addressed the lack of awareness of opportunities for women in the field of aviation. Her Women in Flight project aimed at dispelling the myth that aviation is a man's job. Hadley conducted local workshops for women and girls on the topic of aviation with the intent of fostering more interest in the field and inspiring more women to become pilots. She packaged her plans and documents into turnkey kits for hosting additional workshops and provided them to Lincoln Park Airport for distribution.
Gold Award Girl Scout Ishika worked to improve the quality of life for senior citizens in nursing homes by exploring ways to foster social interaction and combat isolation and loneliness. Her project, Social Activities for Seniors, included the creation of self-care kits and activity carts filled with items curated by her community. Ishika led a campaign to encourage fellow high school students to volunteer at the facility and showed them how to host social activities and events among seniors.
Gold Award Girl Scout Riya addressed the waning interest in STEM at her local middle school with Project Revive Math League. She believed that the school’s MathCounts program, which had been eliminated, was a key factor in inspiring students to explore STEM careers. Her efforts to revive it resulted in more than 35 students joining the club. Riya and her former math teacher coached the students into becoming a competitive math team, and her blog about her experiences continues to inspire and instruct other schools towards establishing math clubs.
Gold Award Girl Scout Manasvi focused her take-action project, “Special” Just Means Unique, on addressing the lack of funding for special education programs and the inaccessibility of helpful materials for special needs students. Manasvi collected and distributed fidget toys for students to local schools and hosted a presentation for teachers explaining their use. She petitioned New Jersey government officials asking them to increase funding for special education programs and authored an act for them to pass into law.
Gold Award Girl Scout Olivia addressed a lack of anti-bullying education among third-grade students in her town. Her project, It Starts with You, was designed to help these students identify bullying and learn how to avoid or stop it. Olivia conducted presentations at the school and provided follow-up information for students and teachers to continue their learning. She also helped the students establish a club that will continue to increase awareness of bullying and prevention of it in the future.
Gold Award Girl Scout Cara addressed the need for more hearing people to learn basic signs in American Sign Language (ASL) to respectfully support deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals. With her take-action project, Spreading Deaf Awareness and Empowerment, Cara created American Sign Language and deaf culture sensitivity training classes and an awareness video. She held in-person classes to teach basic ASL and increased awareness of hearing challenges by having attendees engage in role-playing situations and group discussions.

Girl Scout Katelyn from Randolph was our council's recipient of the 2024 GSUSA Gold Award Scholarship for her project: Katelyn's Pages. 

Inspired by her time spent as a young patient at The Valerie Center in Morristown and the great care and interaction she had with the Child Life Professionals, she wanted to give back through her Girl Scout Gold Award work to this incredible profession by making their jobs a little easier. Katelyn created a website (www.katelynspages.com), where she curated more than 1000 downloadable activities and videos for children that could be used in hospital settings.

Gold Award Girl Scout Valencia was our council's recipient of the 2023 GSUSA Gold Award Scholarship for her project,  Giselle Learns About Alzheimer's. Valencia was inspired to educate young minds on Alzheimer's because of her own experience growing up with her grandparents. She wrote a children’s book that explains Alzheimer’s in simple words to help young people learn what they can do at home to support their loved ones living with dementia. Valencia hosted several live readings of the book via Zoom to groups and individuals. She held briefings with parents and children dealing with dementia patients, prior to printing her book to ensure that her book was relatable and accurate and ready for publication, and then she published it as an e-book and posted it on YouTube in 10 different languages.
Gold Award Girl Scout Samantha established a working relationship between the non-profit organization Hudson Guild in New York City and her local library. Their connection enabled donations of children's books to be made annually to the Hudson Guild’s classroom libraries. 
Gold Award Girl Scout Melissa shared her experience with corrective jaw surgery from a patient’s perspective via a two-year-long blog and documentation. Her goal was to alleviate the stress of other patients facing this procedure and recovery. 
Gold Award Girl Scout Samantha created a virtual career fair during the pandemic for the benefit of Chatham High School students. She conducted outdoor video interviews with companies (their representatives) to highlight their work. Her goal was to provide students with an understanding of the various careers available and the paths to achieving them. 
Gold Award Girl Scout Megan raised awareness through petitions, public meetings, and speaking with public officials about the dangers for students crossing Shunpike Road, and worked to have the area designated as a school zone with formal signage and a 10 mph speed reduction. 
Gold Award Girl Scout Maya created sensory boxes for the Education, Careers & Lifelong Community program (ECLC of New Jersey) in Chatham. Her work will help students (both children and adults with special needs) focus and better absorb valuable information. Maya also created a video that she shared with local schools about how to make sensory boxes so that others can provide them to organizations in need.
Gold Award Girl Scout Kate created www.swimsmartly.com , a website dedicated to educating caregivers and the public about the seriousness of drowning, the frequency of its occurrence, and the importance of water safety. 
Gold Award Girl Scout Grace , with the generous support of her community, was able to build and donate six hydroponic gardens to families in need in the Summit and Chatham area. The gardens, which will produce fresh fruit and vegetables, were delivered with instructions (in English and Spanish) on how to maintain them. 
Gold Award Girl Scout Grace beautified and improved an underutilized outdoor area at the Ogden Junior Preschool. She also added new toys and equipment to what is now known as the Pocket Park, so that it would serve as a fun and educational space for the preschool students. 
Gold Award Girl Scout Evelyn created a program that paired high school students with younger students for free private music lessons, to foster music appreciation in the community. 
Gold Award Girl Scout Ava created a sensory art program for people with special needs and sensory challenges. The 5-month program consisted of a series of art workshops that enabled participants to produce 12 art projects and exhibit them in a final art show. 
Gold Award Girl Scout Grace developed a girls’ field hockey program for the local recreation center that would enable staff to adequately coach field hockey goalies and help them build the skills needed to play in high school. She enhanced the program with new safer gear for the teams. 
Gold Award Girl Scout Aerin , with the help of the Chatham School District, established two summer reading programs for children in grades 4 and 6, that are hosted at the local library to prevent “summer slide.” 
Gold Award Girl Scout Claire celebrated and honored the veterans who are residents of Community Hope shelter by having their common rooms repainted and renovated with donations of new appliances, furniture, and décor. 
Gold Award Girl Scout Aria was our council's recipient of the 2022 GSUSA Gold Award Scholarship for her project, Peer-to-Peer Vaping Awareness Campaign, which addressed the growing vaping epidemic in her community and its potential health consequences, specifically in youth. She utilized a peer-to-peer educational approach to inform youth about deceptive marketing and the harmful effects of vaping. Working with local school officials and youth advocates she conducted virtual and in-person presentations for students at different schools. To increase adult awareness of this issue, Aria reached out to mayors, town newspapers, and libraries, and utilized social media. Social media was key in promoting her message. She recorded her presentation on YouTube, created trendy content for her @ditchthevape Instagram account, created a YouTube video entitled “Incorruptible,” and wrote and published the article, “Anatomy of the Vaping Epidemic.”
 
Gold Award Girl Scout Jenna’s  project had two major goals: to save the Glen Rock High School Girls’ Golf Team as it was going to be eliminated without enough freshman players, and to address feelings of negative body image and self-esteem among girls. “After struggling with my own athletic ability and confidence in middle school, I knew that golf was a great opportunity for other girls to get involved in a team sport as I did.” Golf is a sport that doesn't involve running or contact and can be used to introduce girls into sports, building their confidence.
 
Gold Award Girl Scout Krisha  sought to combat feelings of isolation during the pandemic for local youth. She hosted a virtual camp. After recruiting a team of high-school volunteers, she created pre-recorded instructional videos of fun, camp activities. Then, in virtual meeting spaces like Zoom, children tuned-in to have an interactive camp experience.
Gold Award Girl Scout Kaitlin’s  environmental themed project focused on the alternatives to plastic bags along with negative effects of plastic bags. The theme was Educating, Providing, and Continuing. From creating educational materials and hosting virtual meetings to raising funds for reusable bags for the community, Kaitlin’s project made her community a greener place.
Gold Award Girl Scout Madeline’s  project was made up of 3 different aspects: the creation of a Future Teachers Club, the establishment of a Future Teachers Academy, and adding an Education Track to Morristown High School's Career Night. Madeline created these three initiatives to support students as they pursue teaching and educate them on the career path.
Gold Award Girl Scout Bridget’s  project centered around giving back to the arts in her community. With the help of various volunteers, her core project team performed a physical inventory of all the costume pieces, created a digital log, and developed a tracking system. The resulting inventory system will impact musicals and plays to come, as it will be simpler to find and maintain the things needed for productions, as well as track items that are loaned out to other neighboring schools and organizations.
Gold Award Girl Scout Siya was our council's recipient of the 2021 GSUSA Gold Award Scholarship for her project, Project EnAble, which promoted an inclusive environment for all through education, inclusion, and acceptance of those with autism. Her Project EnAble includes an interactive online game, slideshow, informational brochures, and an animated video that has been shared with both local and global communities. Additionally, Siya founded the Project EnAble Youth Ambassador (P.E.Y.A) Program, which calls for driven teenagers to use Project EnAble resources and spread the outreach of the program.
 
Gold Award Girl Scout Faith’s  project addressed the alarming honeybee population decline. Faith made a difference by bringing awareness of this issue to her community and creating a pollinator garden for bees in her community. She felt that there is much information to be learned about honeybees that all people should know including their importance, the reason for their decline, and ways to help them.
 
Gold Award Girl Scout Hailey’s  project addressed opioid addiction and awareness. To create educational materials, Hailey met with many experts on alternatives to pain medication such as: a nutritionist, the school’s athletic trainer, health officer, a yoga instructor, a mindfulness teacher, a therapist, a physical therapist, and the local police chief. After meeting with these experts, she organized an event that allowed them to speak about alternatives to opioids for managing pain and to educate her community on these alternatives.
 
Gold Award Girl Scout Georgeena  was concerned about the impact of isolation on young children during the pandemic. “The early years of socializing are important for children to develop interpersonal skills,” says Georgeena. As part of her take-action project, she created and implemented a 10-point program to help children gain lost opportunities in ten key areas, including learning to understand facial cues, learning personal space versus engaging with others, learning eye contact, and respecting others, learning to feel comfortable interacting without a mask, and more. Through her efforts, she helped adults become aware of the real effects COVID isolation can have on their children.