5 Wyckoff Girl Scouts Receive Highest-Achievable Awards

WYCKOFF, NJ — Five local girl scouts received the highest award achievable in the youth organization.

Scouts Ariana Giammanco, Claudia Ferenc, Kathryn Haig, Ava McCann and Carly Griffen each received a Gold award at the late-April ceremony, troop co-leader and Giammanco's mom Rima said.

Equivalent to the Eagle rank for boy scouts, the Gold award requires girl scouts to find a problem, learn about it, and then make a plan to address and execute. Each of the projects must be "sustainable" long after the scout graduates high school, and project proposals must pass muster with the local girl scout council, Rima Giammanco said.

After the project is completed, the scout must reflect upon and share her story of the work, and hopefully inspire others to "make a difference, too," the mom and troop leader said.

Before winning the Gold award, a girl scout must also complete the required "journeys" and earn the required badges.

Here is a list of the recent Gold award recipients in Wyckoff Troop 4684 and their respective projects:

Ariana Giammanco: She identified grief as an issue that "affects us all." She planned an event at a local church to sew pillows out of the clothes of deceased loved ones. She also created an instruction sheet for those at the event who wished to create the "memory pillows" on their own.

Claudia Ferenc: Her identified issue was plastic waste. She made plarn, or plastic yarn, and thence created blankets and covers from the material.

Kathryn Haig: She identified the need for a meeting space and/or gathering area for her town's youth. She worked with St. Elizabeth Church and renovated the youth room. She also created a video detailing the activities and virtues that come with being involved in the youth ministry.

Ava McCann: Her identified issue was mental health, particularly in the wake of associated issues resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. She created birdhouses to hang throughout town, each one with inspirational and motivational messages written on it.

Carly Griffen: She helped clean out a grief counseling service area in Hillsdale and made an outdoor quiet space for children to sit, pause, reflect and de-stress before or after their counseling sessions.

Two other scouts — Carmen Noya-Fontao and Emily Kavak — chose not to earn the Gold award but were recognized for being scouts since they were in kindergarten.

"Thrilled to recognize the accomplishments of (these scouts)," said Mayor Tom Madigan, who attended the award ceremony. "Special thanks and applause for leaders and parents."