Girl Scouts Heart of New Jersey presented 137 young women with Girl Scouting’s highest honor — the Gold Award — at a dinner at the Bridgewater Manor Bridgewater on Sunday, June 3.
The honorees were from the council’s seven-county region, which includes Hudson, Essex, Union, Somerset, Hunterdon, southern Warren and parts of Middlesex.
Here are the 10 girls from Hillsborough, with their project names:
• Anna Brilliant, “Just Keep Living 24/7;”
• Lauren Capano, “Hope Bracelets”;
• Mary Dombrowski, “Hillsborough High School Spanish Club”;
• Nicole Gambardella, “A Safe Haven”;
• Sara Elizabeth Jess, “Assisting SAVE Animal Rescue”;
• Crystal Komoroski, “Crystal’s Confidence Dance Class”;
• Pooja Malhotra, “Safety First”;
• Jessica Nunn, “Blankets if Comfort”;
• Kara Rogers, “Manna Café Youth Involvement” and
• Regina Santangelo, “Drunk Driving Awareness.”
From Belle Mead:
• Divya Dang, “Computer Resource Center for Senior Citizens”
• Penelope Quinton, “Connections: A Journey of Understanding”
• Colleen Ridder, “Four Paws; Two Eyes; One Goal: Seeing Eye”
• Apeksha Shah, “Excel with Fun! After-school program for special needs.”
For the Gold Award, girls must complete leadership projects by committing a minimum of 65 hours to planning, and executing the project.
About 6 percent of Girl Scout Seniors and Ambassadors nationwide earn the Gold Award.
The scope of projects vary widely, from installing specialized park equipment for the handicapped and the installation of a fence to protect it, to the authorship and publication of a book about veterans, their wartime experiences and acts of courage.
The keynote speech was delivered by Dawn Fitch, president of Pooka Pure and Simple, a handmade bath and body company, and also founder of Beauty That Cares, a company with a financial model empowering girls and women to create their own businesses.
’For information on Girl Scouts or to volunteer, call 908-518-4400 or visit www.gshnj.org. Direct inquiries about the Gold Award to Sue DeCarlo at [email protected].

