Julia Henry

TROOP 520

Julia Henry worked with children in Webster Springs, West Virginia to raise their interest in
reading through her Literacy Awareness & Importance in Webster Springs, West Virginia. The
issue the project addressed was the abject poverty in this Appalachian community. She promoted
literacy and interest in reading through encouraging the participants to journal, participate in
story time at camp and supplementing the camp library with new titles. Julia created an interest
in reading that will hopefully encourage the young people in Webster Springs to stay in school.

A rising senior at Manhasset High School, Julia was inducted into the English, Spanish, Math,
Science and Exemplars Honor Societies. She is an officer of the Interact Club and a member of
the Key and Green Clubs. She works on the Indian Ink, a campus publication, and is on both the
varsity crew and the varsity swim teams. Julias service extends past school; she is a Rustic
Pathways volunteer, doing summer service in Costa Rica in 2013 and Thailand the summer of
2014. She is a part of Harborside Rowing and Long Island Express Swimming. Julia is a member
of St. Marys RC Church Youth Group, is a Junior Lector at Sunday and holiday masses and, in
addition, she teaches religion classes.

Caitlin Lenahan
TROOP 1339

The fact that so many young people are more interested in video games and electronics than
reading is what sparked Caitlin Lenahans project Girls Night Out: Dinner and a Movie Book
Discussion. With the hopes of inspiring more girls to read, Caitlin, in partnership with the
Franklin Square Public Library, created a book club where girls read books in the fantasy and
sci-fi genres which then could be compared to their respective movies. The library provided
dinner and Caitlin picked the books and facilitated the book discussion. The program was such a
success the Library is continuing the concept and has expanded the program to serve boys and
adults.

Caitlin attended Sacred Heart Academy and now attends Adelphi University. In high school,
Caitlin was inducted into the National Honor Society. She served as an altar server and altar
server mentor. She also volunteered at the Garden City Bird sanctuary from 2004 to 2013.

Emma Parente
TROOP 1283

Emma Parente wanted to share her love for dance with special needs children that may not have
the opportunity to participate in such activities. Emma partnered with St. Aidans Parish Dance
Academy to accomplish her goal. She spent many hours learning to work with children with
special needs before embarking on her project, I Hope Youll Dance. Emma researched the
positive effects dance therapy can have on children with special needs and through the project
she also addressed the isolation this population may experience.

Emma, will be a junior at Kellenberg Memorial High School in the fall. There she is in the choir
and participates in Sodality, Blue and Gold and plays violin with the orchestra. Outside of
school, she is a competitive dancer and has taken ballet, point, tap, jazz and modern dance.
Emma also teaches dance. She is a member of the Junior Catholic Daughters and the Parish
Choir. Emma plays CYO volleyball and is currently assisting with a Daisy Troop in her town.

Samantha Seidita
TROOP 3240

Samantha Seidita addressed the issue that some children dont have access to the physical,
emotional, and intellectual benefits of dance because of socioeconomic reasons. Samanthas A
Chance to Dance provided children that could not afford to take dance lessons an opportunity to
participate in a series of free dance workshops. The dance workshops led up to a closing
ceremony where students performed for families and friends. Samanthas project inspired the
owner of the studio, who has committed to donate
studio time and space every year to continue the program.

Samantha attended Plainview-Old Bethpage John F. Kennedy High School and participated in
On a High Note Acappella, All County Choir, NYSSMA, and JFK High School Mixed Treble
Choir. Samantha is a member of the National Honor Society Executive Board, the
Environmental, Community Service and Youth Against Cancer Clubs. She is a part of Alis
Angels and has participated in Breast Cancer and Pancreatic Cancer walks and also does
volunteer work.

Bridget Anton, Toms River

Bridgets Girl Scout Gold Award project was to create fifty care packages to be
donated to the Chelseas Living Nursing Home, for the elderly. Each package
contained a medical information card provided by the nursing home, a pill box, first
aid kit, playing cards, a nail file, tissues, hand sanitizer, hand wipes, puzzle book,
calendar, pen, eyeglass cleaner, magnet, toothbrush and a prayer card. She taught
an exercise class at the nursing home to help them stay in shape and gave a
presentation at the local library to educate the community on her project. Bridget
learned that she can make a difference in her own community.

McKenzie Black, Manasquan

Reading a good book is one of the most worthwhile adventures you can participate
in every day. For McKenzies Girl Scout Gold Award project, she and her fellow troop
members started an after-school reading program at a local elementary school;
promoting literacy and a love of reading, as well as a respect for our community.
They got the kids involved in book drives for local and national organizations, and
showed them that reading is both fun and rewarding.

Kira DeSomma, Manasquan

For Kiras Girl Scout Gold Award project, she taught yoga to young children in the
area through a dance studio near her home. Kira trained extensively to be able to
teach effectively. She also made a small pamphlet to demonstrate stress-reducing
poses. Kira learned how to reduce stress, how to teach children, and how to spread
her expertise to others.

Olivia Guerrasio, Manasquan

Olivias Girl Scout Gold Award project consisted of three parts: improving childrens
reading skills, aiding children who are learning English as a second language, and
promoting recreational reading through encouragement and confidence. Olivia held
three book drives, all benefitting Lakewood schools and the children residing at
Linkages, Monmouth Countys womens homeless shelter. An eight-week story-time
and activity program followed at the Linkages shelter. She ended the project with a
reading workshop for younger Girl Scouts, where she promoted awareness about
the issues she was trying to address. In completing this project, Olivia learned the
worth of pushing herself out of her comfort zone to help others, and she feels
fortunate to have been able to witness the positive impact it had.

Melissa Haley, Manasquan

When planning her Girl Scout Gold Award project, a few things came to mind: her
love of children, reading, and her desire to make a difference in my community. So
Melissa set off with her partner McKenzie and started Operation R.E.A.D., Read
Everyday and Discover. Part one was a book drive, which yielded thousands of
books that were donated to the local Child Advocacy Center. Second was a reading
program at their elementary school where they began reading to the children in
aftercare. In the end, they were able to read to each other and even ran their own
book drive. Melissa has come to realize her passion for children, literacy, and
teaching, guiding her to pursue her goal to become an educator.

Elyse Powderly, Fairfax, VA (formerly Freehold)

Elyse coordinated and held a fair for kids to learn that it is better to adopt rescued
dogs than to buy dogs from puppy stores. Most pet stores get their dogs from puppy
mills; so when someone buys from a pet store, they are indirectly supporting the
puppy mill business. She also made a documentary on the subject and interviewed
professionals. By doing this project, Elyse gained confidence in talking to and
leading others.

Vincenza Rego, Long Branch

Vincenzas project was a reading program called Read Out Loud, offered to
children 3 to 7 years of age, in need of help with reading skills. She worked with the
Gregory School in Long Branch and the Long Branch Public Library to set up
sessions where she read to and worked with the children. Vincenza stressed the
importance of reading twenty minutes a day; either the child reading alone or the
parents reading to them. She learned that I am a very resourceful person. Vincenza
has the drive, the ambition, and the need to complete any project that she starts.

MORRISTOWN TEEN CREATES BOOK CLUB

FOR GIRL SCOUT GOLD AWARD
MORRISTOWNErin Heller, of Morristown, re
cently completed her Girl Scout Gold
Award by establishing a book club for girls enteri
ng middle school. She hoped to help the girls
form an accepting group of friends that woul
d help them withstand peer pressure.
The Girl Scout Gold Award is the highest aw
ard a Girl Scout can earn and requires the
completion of a leadership project of at least 80 h
ours. Each girl must discover an issue in the
community, connect with experts and community
members, and take action to effect positive
change.

JEFFERSON TEEN RECORDS AUDIO

BOOKS FOR CHILDREN
JEFFERSONBrooke Boetticher, of Jeffers
on, recently earned her Girl Scout Gold
Award with a leadership project focused on reco
rding audio books for children with reading
difficulties. She donated the audio books to the libr
aries at Ellen T. Briggs and Arthur Stanlick
Elementary Schools.
The Girl Scout Gold Award is the highest aw
ard a Girl Scout can earn and requires the
completion of a leadership project of at least 80 h
ours. Each girl must discover an issue in the
community, connect with experts and community
members, and take action to effect positive
change.
Reading is a passion of mine, as is acting,
Brooke said. I combined these passions so
that I could help students who
might not be able to read books
without the aid of an audio book.
Students with learning differentab
ilities will be able to find a
love of reading, and hopefully
gain more reading skills as well
Brooke recruited the help of other volunteers
to help her record 50 childrens books. She
edited the recordings, burned them to CDs and p
ackaged them with CD players, headphones, and
extra batteries so the libraries had all the tools
they needed to assist children with reading
difficulties.

TEEN HELPS STUDENTS WITH

READING COMPREHENSION
DUMONT- Kerry Cleary, of Dumont, recently
completed her Girl
Scout Gold Award by
creating a volunteer program to help ki
ds with their reading comprehension.
The Girl Scout Gold Award is the highest aw
ard a Girl Scout can earn and requires the
completion of a leadership project of at least 80 h
ours. Each girl must discover an issue in the
community, connect with experts and community
members, and take action to effect positive
change.
After reading an article about
students who struggle with poo
r reading test scores, Kerry
wanted to help. For her project, she and other
volunteers worked with
fifth graders at Grant
School and children in her nei
ghborhood. Her goal was to build
the childrens confidence in
reading so they could excel in school.
There was no free reading assistance offere
d in my town, said Kerry. We needed a
program that all students may attend rega
rdless of their financial situation.

MAHWAH TEEN PROMOTES READING, EA

RNS GIRL SCOUT GOLD AWARD
MAHWAH- Julia Bauer, of Mahwah, recently
completed her Girl Scout Gold Award by
organizing and holding a book fair
at Ramapo Ridge Middle School to
encourage teens to read
for fun.
The Girl Scout Gold Award is the highest aw
ard a Girl Scout can earn and requires the
completion of a leadership project
with at least 80 hours.
Each girl must discover an issue within
the community, connect with expe
rts and community members, and
then take action to effect
positive change.
Being a reader and being a part of fan
communities has given me many opportunities
and improved my life in many ways and I wanted
other kids to have th
ese same opportunities,
Julia said.
At the book fair, Julia taught the students abou
t how to participate in fan communities and
also collected young adult books for the Link
Community Schools library. Almost 400 books
were donated to the library

Shannara Bauer
Bethlehem
Shannara inspired younger students at her local elementary school to embrace the power of
reading. Shannara went around her town and collected and donated 750 books to the library.
She organized books by reading level, read to local children, and developed a community-
wide reading camp. Because of her project, her high schools National Honor Society will
collect more books and continue to read to students. Shannara currently attends Goucher
College in Baltimore for a career in dance therapy or neuropsychology.

Casey Ford
Shelton
Caseys Gold Award Project, The Book Nook Club, addressed the clash between reading
and technology. Her project worked towards helping younger students become more
interested in reading for leisure. Casey held a book club where they read different books and
discussed different topics. At the end of the project, Casey found that more students were
inclined to read at home when they were bored instead of relying on technology for
entertainment. The Book Nook Club will continue to run next year by underclassmen at
Caseys high school.
READING PROJECT

Collect childrens or adults books.

Read them onto tapes or act them out
on video tapes. Present them to a day care center, childrens hospital or senior
center. You could also
volunteer to read weekly to the children or seniors.

SKILLS SHARING

Share your special skills with the residents of a low i

ncome neighborhood,
retirement center or school. Hold special classes in something you are very
good at. It could be
music, sports, art, dance, sewing, wood working, science or other special
skill. Leave behind a
booklet or video of information and instruc
tion in your chosen field.

Leslie Amick
Writing Revolution
Girl Scout Troop 4776. Leslies project focused on improving middle and high school students
writing skills without an emphasis on testing. She created two workshops held at the Lewisville
Public
Library. One workshop was devoted to fanfiction with two panel presenters and the other was a
NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) workshop with six different activities. Over 70
students
attended the workshops and fine-tuned their writing skills in a more positive environment by
writing
about topics that interested them. Leslie provided her materials to the library to repeat these
workshops again in the future. Leslie will graduate from Flower Mound High School in 2017.

Dancing for the Gold

Girl Scout Troop 3119. Madelaine conducted dance and craft camps for preschoolers at The
Family Place,
a domestic violence agency. Madelaine, along with her volunteers, taught the children simple
dances,
musical games, and worked on craft projects. These activities provided a creative outlet to allow
the children
to express themselves. She made an instructional dance and game video, and a music CD for
the staff
to use as new children arrive at the shelter. She designed and posted a video on YouTube about
her
project to raise awareness about domestic violence. Madelaine graduated from JJ Pearce High
School
in 2014