Join us on June 18, 2022, at 11 a.m. as we celebrate our council's
Gold Award Girl Scouts for achieving the highest award available for
Girl Scout Seniors and Ambassadors! Watch a live stream or head to one
of our watch parties at the Medford and Portland Service Centers to
meet Gold Award Girl Scouts, hear about their projects and be inspired
to change the world with a project of your own.
Hear from
inspirational keynote speaker Katie Francis—a Gold Award Girl Scout,
alum, and national career record holder for the number of Girl Scout
Cookies sold (180,000 boxes)!
JOIN THE
CELEBRATION
Join us online or at one of our watch parties
(watch parties include refreshments):
- Register for the online event only. Enjoy the live-stream from home.
- Register for the Portland Watch Party. Enjoy the live-stream and refreshments with other Girl Scouts at our Portland Service Center.
- Register for the Medford Watch Party. Enjoy the live-stream and refreshments with other Girl Scouts at our Medford Service Center.
CONGRATULATIONS!
Congratulations to Girl Scouts of
Oregon and Southwest Washington's 2022 Gold Award Girl Scouts:
Charlotte Adams
Battle Ground, WA
| Getting Off the Grid
Charlotte created a booklet
to educate local youth about hiking and encourage them to get out in
nature. Her goal was to get children away from their screen and into
more healthy and adventurous habits. By educating children on
general hiking rules, dangerous plants in the area, and everything
they would need to know about 20 of their local hikes, Adams
achieved her goal of increased youth participation in hiking. Her
booklet is available in Battle Ground elementary and middle schools,
the Battle Ground Community Library, and online.
Kaylea Bell
Medford, OR | Tutoring for All
When Kaylea learned
that tutoring is often unaffordable or inconvenient for many
students in her community, she started and publicized a free
tutoring program that uses a website she designed to connect
potential tutors and students based upon academic needs and skills.
Tutoring is then provided online at the convenience of the
participants. Her school’s honor society has agreed to maintain the
website and participate regularly as tutors.
Emma Coulter
La Center, WA | Community Book Share
Emma wanted
to promote literacy and increase reading in her community. She and
her team of volunteers built and filled four community book share
structures. The structures contain free reading material for all
ages and were located near four partners who have agreed to maintain
the structures and re-stock them as needed.
Holly Feldhousen
Portland, OR | Invasive Plant
Mitigation
Holly renovated an outdoor
area of Northwest Portland by removing English ivy and other
invasive plants, and taught her volunteers how to identify and
remove them. She educated her fellow Girl Scouts and attendees at a
service unit meeting about the negative impact of invasive plants on
watersheds, as well as how her project helped the area return to a
better state. She also taught her Girl Scout peers how to run
similar projects on their own, and a younger troop has agreed to
continue her project.
Anna Gabler
Lincoln City, OR | Caring for Pets
After terrible
wildfires swept through Lincoln County, Anna wanted to help the
animals in her area and educate pet owners about the importance of
microchipping. She also wanted to help struggling families get the
support they need to keep local animals healthy and with their
families. Anna organized an animal fashion show to collect pet
supplies and goods for those in need, as well as a can and bottle
drive to help fund the cost of extra pet supplies. She recruited
volunteers to help promote and run the event, and to manage a social
media page to help spread the word. She also created a “Pet Disaster
Checklist & Microchipping” informational brochure that local
animal clinics, veterinarians and animal shelters are now providing
to pet owners. The community loved this amazing (and adorable)
event, and there are plans to hold it again in the future.
Riley Kessler
Portland, OR | Capturing History:
COVID-19 Teen Writing Collection
Riley realized that children
and teenagers are rarely asked for their opinions and feelings about
the COVID-19 pandemic and that adults have had a much different
experience than teens. To give teens a voice, Riley curated a
collection of written works which specifically focus on teen
perspectives during the pandemic, thus allowing them to explore the
damage that COVID-19 has caused. Most students that participated in
her project commented that they could finally make sense of the
emotional challenges created by the global pandemic. She noted that,
“Adults who had looked at the results of my project shared that they
had no idea about the immense difficulty that teenagers have
silently struggled with through during COVID, which is exactly the
change that I wanted to create.” All 50+ written pieces received by
the Beaverton City Library were published online as articles on a
permanent website, as well as printed and stored in the library's
Local History Archive. The results of Riley’s project were featured
in an edition of the Oregon Historical Society's weekly e-digest.
Makena Krause
Hillsboro, OR | Dear Society
Project
Through her multimedia Dear
Society Project, Makena Krause addressed the lack of education and
empathy needed for teenagers as they establish their identity. She
and her team solicited submissions from students asking first,
"If you could address society collectively, what would you
say?" and second, ""What would you change about
society based on your own personal experience?" They collected
and curated 25 letters and 15 paintings/digital art pieces from
teenagers and 10 letters from adult leaders telling their personal
stories and engaging with topics such as police brutality, body
image, gender expression, and racial violence. These letters and art
pieces accompanied by artist statements were then displayed both at
an art exhibition at a local cultural arts center with more than 100
attendees and on a website and Instagram account which will continue
to accept additional submissions. Makena also led a workshop with
middle school students educating them on identity, the importance of
respect and different social movements.
Rose McMaster
Neotsu, OR | Foster Care
Rose wanted to help
kids in the foster care system get the school supplies and other
items they might need. With the help of experts and her volunteer
team, Rose created information pamphlets about the needs of the
foster care system and the various ways people can help (beyond
foster parenting). She also created over 100 care bags with basic
needed supplies in them, and left the pamphlet and care bag
instructions with a local help center to continue the project in the future.
Keira Mooney
Portland, OR | No-sew Blankets
Keira wanted to help children
and families in shelters and hospitals that were in need of warmth,
a sense of security and comfort. She recruited a team of volunteers
to help her create and deliver more than 100 no-sew blankets to a
local organization that works with social services and others in
need. As a recipient of a blanket like this from the same
organization when she was younger, Keira knew how meaningful and
comforting the blankets would be to the recipients and their
families, and she was happy to be able to give back. Keira also
developed educational materials with information on how to create
the blankets so the project will continue to provide comfort for
years to come.
Makenzie Schwartz
Gresham, OR | Cat & Dog
Cots
Makenzie partnered with
Multnomah County Animal Shelter, and made sustainable dog and cat
beds to the specifications of their needs. These beds were made of
outdoor mesh and PVC piping. She organized multiple work parties of
adult and teenage volunteers in the local community to help build
the beds. She also created instructions on how to build and
maintain the beds and has left it with the shelter for future use.
Abigail Wilson
Vancouver, WA | Fighting Invasive
Species
Abigail tackled the problem
of invasive ivy at the Port of Washougal by recruiting and leading a
team in removing large sections of ivy and replacing the ivy with
native plants. She also arranged for all the tools and equipment
needed to complete the removal and restoration. She researched and
acquired appropriate plants to fill the areas where ivy had been and
created a digital guidebook to assist in the planting and
maintenance of the new plantings. She also explained the
characteristics of the ivy and why they were removing it. This
guidebook was shared with Port employees and the public library.
For more information about the Girl Scout Gold Award, visit www.girlscoutsosw.org/gogold.
