Monmouth Girl Scouts
present Gold Awards
Monmouth Council of Girl Scouts has announced that 26 Senior Girl Scouts have earned the highest achievement in Girl Scouting — the Gold Award. This represents the largest number of Gold Award recipients in the 40-year history of Monmouth Council, according to a press release.
Monmouth Council of Girl Scouts serves more than 11,600 girls throughout Monmouth and northern Ocean counties in conjunction with 4,500 adult volunteers.
As the highest earned achievement in Girl Scouting, the Gold Award encompasses five rigorous components, each of which demands efficient organizational, time management and leadership skills. To earn the Gold Award, Senior Girl Scouts must complete the following requirements:
• Earn four Cadette and Senior Girl Scout interest project awards on topics related to the Girl Scout Award project. For example, if her Gold Award project involves a special event, a Girl Scout may develop interest projects related to emergency preparedness or public relations.
• Earn the Career Exploration Pin. This program introduces Girl Scouts to potential career choices and the importance of leadership, delegation and follow-through.
• Earn the Senior Girl Scout Leadership Award. Girl Scouts who develop leadership skills become well equipped to identify a community’s need, design a course of action, delegate work and assure completion.
• Earn the Senior Girl Scout Challenge Pin. In order to select their Gold Award projects, Girl Scouts pinpoint what is important to them and set realistic long-term and short-term goals. They are able to enhance their communication skills and consider various types of community service.
• Plan and implement a Girl Scout Gold Award project. The Gold Award project demands at least 50 hours of community service and must meet an expressed need in the community, serve people beyond Girl Scouting, have a discernible result that will continue beyond the completion of the project and adhere to all Girl Scout safety guidelines.
As Sue McClure, executive director of Monmouth Council of Girl Scouts, said, the Gold Award represents a unique milestone in a young woman’s life.
"A Girl Scout Gold Award recipient is a Gold Award recipient for life," McClure said. "We hear a lot of men remarking that they earned the Eagle Award as Boy Scouts. Actually, the criteria for the Girl Scout Gold Award are just as strict, and the Gold Award just as impressive, as the Eagle award. I’m thrilled that during our 40th anniversary year, Monmouth Council of Girl Scouts is honoring 26 remarkable young women for reaching one of the true pinnacles of Girl Scouting."
Girl Scouts who complete the Gold Award are eligible for a variety of educational scholarships. Many government agencies issue certificates to Gold Award recipients, who also earn an educational grant from Monmouth Council. Any Gold Award recipient who chooses a career in the U.S. Army may enter at the E-2 level, which is the equivalent of having 30 college credits.
The 26 Gold Award recipients from Monmouth Council were recognized at a Gold Award Dinner on May 21.
The winners included:
• Christina Barbato of Howell, senior, Freehold Township High School. Barbato found girls and boys in the Freehold community who would benefit from her program Fun with Cooking. The children, age 5-10, learned about nutritional snacks, meals, desserts and international foods in their sessions. Using her skills, Christina was able to teach younger children something about which she is passionate. The program focused on safety and fun while emphasizing important life skills.
• Kathleen Coderre of Jackson, senior, Monsignor Donovan High School. Kathleen and two other members of her troop held Ident-a-Kid at Six Flags Great Adventure. The focus of this project was to take pictures of small children with their parents when their parents purchased season tickets. The children would sit on the lap of their guardian when the picture was taken and then, if anything were to happen and the child were separated from a guardian, the picture would be recent and provide proof of parenting. Kathleen’s responsibility was to develop the budget and solicit donations to help fulfill the project.
• Joanna Marino of Manalapan, junior, Howell High School. Joanna’s Gold Award project focused on hunger and raising public awareness about this issue. Helping Mother Teresa’s Barn for the Poorest of the Poor gave Joanna personal experiences collecting food goods for those in need of food. She sent out fliers to individuals and organizations asking if they could make donations. She collected the food and delivered it to Mother Teresa’s Barn. Her targeted areas were sections of New York and New Jersey.
• Courtney McNally of Howell, senior, St. Rose High School. Courtney and two other members of her troop held Ident-a-Kid at Six Flags Great Adventure. The focus of this project was to take pictures of small children with their parents when their parents purchased season tickets. The children would sit on the lap of their guardian when the picture was taken and then, if anything were to happen and the child were separated from the guardian, the picture would be recent and provide proof of parenting. Courtney was responsible for communications throughout their project. She contacted Great Adventure, the Howell and Jackson police departments and the New Jersey Crime Prevention Officers Association. Finally, she will help out with solicitation of donations and development of the film.
• Catherine Poss of Howell, senior, St. Rose High School. Catherine’s project focused on Poverty Awareness. She and another girl developed a program that would introduce younger Girl Scouts to the reality of poverty. Communication was Catherine’s major contribution to this project. She was the contact person for all correspondence and contacted younger Girl Scout troops to attend their program. She also was responsible for advertising their project and developing the menu. Menu development was a challenge; the younger girls were to truly experience poverty and hunger, so for dinner on the overnight they only received a cup of soup and a piece of bread. Finally, at about 9:30 p.m. they had pizza for dinner, but the impact was long lasting.
• Julie Strain of Howell, senior, Howell High School. Poverty Awareness was the focus of Julie’s Gold Award project. Together with Catherine Poss, the girls held an overnight for younger girls to educate them about hunger and poverty. Julie’s role was to coordinate the guest speakers, location of the event and evaluations. The girls coordinated the entire overnight which included trips to the Salvation Army and a food pantry.
• Lisa Talati of Jackson, senior, Monsignor Donovan High School. Kathleen and two other members of her troop held Ident-a-Kid at Six Flags Great Adventure. The focus of this project was to take pictures of small children with their parents when their parents purchased season tickets. The children would sit on the lap of their guardian when the picture was taken and then, if anything were to happen and the child were separated from a guardian, the picture would be recent and provide proof of parenting. Lisa’s main responsibility for the project was to provide the safety booths, gathering of pertinent safety issues for public safety and find volunteers to staff the booth.