Long Grove Girl Scout earns Gold Award

Nearly 70 local high school students recently earned Girl Scouts of the USA's most prestigious national honor for girls, the Girl Scout Gold Award. Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana honored their accomplishments during a special ceremony June 4 at the Chicago Marriott Oak Brook.

Allison Silverman, a member of Girl Scout Troop 42790 in Long Grove, received her Girl Scout Gold Award after completing a complex series of requirements, including the implementation of a significant community service project.

Silverman earned her Gold Award by initiating "Student Voices for Democracy." She worked with the Stevenson Center for Democracy to increase student voices and involvement in global issues. After establishing an editorial section in the center's newspaper, she had students from local high schools write on subjects of their choice, three of which were chosen to be published.

"Through the publication of student pieces, I not only succeeded in allowing for student voices to be heard, but also increased student involvement in global issues and the center itself," said Silverman.

The Girl Scout Gold Award is the highest award that a Girl Scout ages 14-18 may earn. The leadership skills, organizational skills, and sense of community and commitment required to complete the process set the foundation for a lifetime of active citizenship. Girls complete seven steps to earn the Gold Award, including the completion of a significant service project.

The project fulfills a need within a girl's community (whether local or global), creates change and is sustaining. The Gold Award recognizes the work of Girl Scouts who demonstrate leadership culminating in 80 hours or more dedicated toward their service project. Girls complete a minimum of 40 hours in a leadership role before embarking on the final project.

Girls have earned Girl Scouts of the USA's highest awards since 1916, just four years after the organization's founding in 1912. These awards include the Golden Eagle of Merit, Golden Eaglet, Curved Bar, First Class and the current Girl Scout Gold Award, which was introduced in 1980. Over the course of the last century, millions of Girl Scout alumnae have positively impacted their communities and the world with their creative, impactful and sustainable community service, or Take Action, projects.

As awareness of the Girl Scout Gold Award continues to grow, so does its prestige. An increasing number of colleges are offering financial incentives to those who earn Girl Scout Gold Awards, and admissions counselors view it as a sign of an individual girl's ability to lead.

Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana impacts the lives of more than 55,400 girls and nearly 21,400 adult members in 245 communities in six Illinois counties (Cook, DuPage, Grundy, Kankakee, Lake, and Will) and four Indiana counties (Jasper, Lake, Newton, and Porter). Girl Scouting builds girls of courage, confidence and character, who make the world a better place.

For more information, visit www.girlscoutsgcnwi.org or call (855) 456-8347.

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