Two Hillsborough Township girl scouts, who received their Gold Awards this year, were honored at an August committee meeting.
The Hillsborough Township Committee dedicated a portion of its Aug. 13 meeting to recognize a pair of local girl scouts, Ariella Franchino and Grace Giordano, for having earned the Girl Scouts of the United States of America’s highest honor, the Gold Award.
Franchino, a member of Girl Scout Troop 60002 and graduate of Hillsborough High School, is an incoming freshman at the University of South Carolina. She has been the high school’s yearbook activities editor, has volunteered with girl scouts and the Hillsborough High School REACH Senior Internship program at Zarephath Health Center.
Her Gold Award project, known as “Smart Art”, involved providing the Hillsborough Senior Center with a sustainable art program including four art classes during the summer. She also held an art supplies drive to inform the community about the project. She said the project took more than 80 hours to plan and execute.
Grace, a senior at Hillsborough High School and a member of Girl Scout Troop 60365, is a member of the National Honor Society, the Art Club and volunteers as a PREP instructor for Catholic education classes at the Catholic Church of Saint Ann. She has volunteered through the girl scouts and at the Catholic Church of Saint Ann Festa.
Her Gold Award project involved collaborating with the human resources staff at the Parker Life Senior Living facility to improve the relationships between residents and caregiver staff through filmed personal interviews of staff members.
Upon learning about the staff’s personal lives and interests, she said the residents found a deeper connection and respect for their caregivers. She also said the project took more than 100 hours to complete.
After Hillsborough Township Mayor Frank DelCore presented both scouts with proclamations to acknowledge their efforts, he took a moment to explain the importance of youth making an impact at a local level. He also noted that he delights in the frequent acknowledgements of local girl and boy scouts, too.
“One of the things I am constantly amazed of here in Hillsborough is how many incredible young people we have,” DelCore said. “The number of Eagle Scout and Girl Scout Gold Awards that we are able to recognize is truly staggering. It just goes to show what an incredible community we have and what great young people we have in the community.”