Olivia Wong, Julie Hoff, Michelle Marty, Kathryn Wilkinson, and Christina Marino celebrate achieving the Girl Scout Silver Award.
Girl Scout Troop 60086 announced that Julie Hoff, Christina Marino, Michelle Marty, Kathryn Wilkinson, and Olivia Wong of Shelton were honored in a ceremony on May 12 to recognize their achievement of earning the Girl Scout Silver Award, the highest award that Girl Scouts ages 11-14 can earn.
To obtain this award, a Cadette Girl Scout works to complete a series of leadership challenges and an extensive, sustainable service project in her community. It takes a minimum of 50 hours of preparation, planning, and work to accomplish the Silver Award goals a girl sets for herself. These girls well exceeded that amount.
The Scouts earned their Silver Awards with completed projects that ranged in focus.
Julie Hoff and Christina Marino created opportunities for senior citizens to connect with peers by forming a program through which a series of interviews are made available to peer groups to inspire understanding and connection. The program will continue on through a local senior health agency.
Michelle Marty partnered with St. Lawrence School to create literacy opportunities. Michelle provided many short-term benefits to the school, such as infographics for grandparents, grade-level support to teachers, and more. Her long lasting library barcode initiative has been adopted by at least one other non-local school, and it is expected to be picked up by more schools in the future.
Kathryn Wilkinson earned her Silver Award through her hard work and commitment to helping the Shelton Animal Shelter. Kathryn made beautiful, homemade cat beds and comfort toys. These items are crucial for keeping the animals in more typical surrounding to a home lifestyle. She also collected many, many donations and supplies for both dogs and cats at the Shelter. The shelter continues to be inspired and grateful for her efforts to help animals in the search for their forever homes.
Olivia Wong completed a project that involved advocating for healthy lifestyles in elementary school students by creating and administering a mural in the Booth Hill Elementary School cafeteria. Research indicates long lasting efficacy of public art in shaping attitude and inclination to act. The mural will be a part of BHS for many years to come.
The Girl Scout Silver Award requires extensive efforts at a young age, and it represents a girl’s commitment to herself and to her community, as she focuses on leadership, career exploration, personal challenges and completing a lasting project that will benefit her community.
All five Scouts are also recipients of the Girl Scout Bronze Award and intend to begin work toward the Girl Scout Gold Award, next year.
The Girl Scout Silver Award is one of countless other awards and programs in Girl Scouting where developing and displaying leadership takes center stage, including the Gold Award, Bronze Award, and the Leadership Journeys program, which allows girls at every age level to build leadership skills by discovering, connecting, and taking action. Service is built into all aspects of Girl Scouting with the hope that girls like these five will carry a commitment to serving others into their adult lives. For information on Girl Scout leadership programs, please visit www.GSofCT.org
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