2024 High Awards Region 1
May 01, 2024
FIVE AREA GIRL SCOUTS EARN PRESTIGIOUS GOLD AWARD
Girl Scouts of Historic Georgia proudly honors 19 Gold Award Girl Scouts across the council.
ATHENS-GAINESVILLE, GEORGIA (May 1, 2024)— Girl Scouts of Historic Georgia proudly recognizes local Girl Scouts Ivy Giacchino, Olivia Hawkins, Victoria Raphael, Olivia Self, and Jasmine Stringer as members of the 2024 Girl Scout Gold Award class who earned the highest award in Girl Scouting, the Gold Award. Giacchino, Hawkins, Raphael, Self, and Stringer will be honored at a formal ceremony at Homer United Methodist Church on Saturday, May4 , at 1 pm. Younger Girl Scouts who have earned the Silver or Bronze Award and volunteers who have earned council and national level awards will also be honored during the ceremony.
The 2024 Gold Award Girl Scouts demonstrate the breadth of issues American teens feel are most prevalent in society today.
Ivy Giacchino, a Bishop Girl Scout from Troop 12157, created a Free Little Art Gallery inside the Morgan Medical Center for her Gold Award project. Her endeavor created a local link to art in a place where people are in need of the beauty and strength that art can provide.
For her project, “More Than a Classroom,” Olivia Hawkins, a Bogart Girl Scout from Troop 12196, built raised garden beds and butterfly houses that were installed as part of a local elementary school’s “nature walk outdoor classroom.” Teachers are now able to use this new space to teach students how to grow plants and extend the learning outside of their classroom.
Victoria Raphael, a Loganville Girl Scout from Troop 13670, promoted voting to teens and young adults with her project, “Every Vote Counts.” She created tri-fold posters about voting that were installed in 8 high schools. She also included voter registration forms and cards with QR codes that direct the user to basic voter information.
Olivia Self, a Winder Girl Scout from Troop 13287, helped foster children feel special and loved with her project, “Birthday Boxes for Foster Kids.” She donated birthday boxes to local organizations that serve foster children, brought awareness to her community about the foster care system, and set up a group that will sustain the project for years to come.
Jasmine Stringer, a Gainesville Girl Scout from Troop 13501, painted a water safety mural at Lake Lanier as part of her project, “This Town Won’t Drown.” This fun and interactive mural was designed to engage the community with art while learning vital water safety information.
Gold Award Girl Scouts make positive impacts on our local communities by addressing some of our most pressing issues. They become innovative problem-solvers, empathetic leaders, confident public speakers, and focused project managers. They learn resourcefulness, tenacity, and decision-making skills, giving them an edge personally and professionally. As they take action to transform their communities, Gold Award Girl Scouts gain tangible skills and prove they’re the leaders our world needs. The 2024 Gold Award Girl Scout class identified issues in their communities, took action, and found or created solutions to earn their Gold Awards, addressing real-life problems such as environmental sustainability, racial justice, mental and physical well-being, and gender inequality in STEM.
According to recent research, Gold Award Girl Scouts are more likely to fill leadership roles at work and in their personal lives and are more civically engaged than their non-Girl Scout peers. Eighty-seven percent (87%) of Gold Award Girl Scouts agree that earning their Gold Award gave them skills that help them succeed professionally. Seventy-two percent ( 72%) said earning their Gold Award helped them get a scholarship. Changing the world doesn’t end when a Girl Scout earns her Gold Award. Ninety-nine percent (99%) of Gold Award Girl Scout alums take on leadership roles in their everyday lives.
To learn more about Girl Scout Highest Awards, visit the Girl Scouts of Historic Georgia website. ❧
ABOUT GIRL SCOUTS OF HISTORIC GEORGIA: Girl Scouts of Historic Georgia is rich in heritage and purpose. The council extends from the North Georgia mountains to the Okefenokee and from the Atlantic coast to the Chattahoochee Valley. Girl Scouts of Historic Georgia serves more than 8,000 girls and 3,000 adults in 122 counties in Georgia, two counties in South Carolina and one county in Alabama. The council is also the home of our organization’s founder, Juliette Gordon Low, who founded Girl Scouts on March 12, 1912 in Savannah, Georgia, where her birthplace and the historic First Headquarters still welcome thousands of Girl Scouts every year. Girl Scouting gives girls a wide range of experiences to define leadership their way. To learn more, join, volunteer, or donate, visit www.gshg.org.
