Area Girl Scouts Receive Gold Today

Three South Kingstown girl scouts will be recognized with 41 of their peers at the 2012 Gold Award Ceremony from noon to 2 p.m. at Rhodes on the Pawtuxet in Cranston.

The gold award is the highest distinction in girl scouts, equivalent to the Eagle Scout distinction in boy scouts. For more info on the gold award, click here.

The following girl scouts are being honored, with a description of their project in their own words from the press release for the gold award banquet.

Julia Craig, Troop #554, Wakefield, South Kingstown Class of 2012 – Fellowship for St. Francis

I am currently a part of a youth group at St. Francis of Assisi Church. I came to realize that our parish does not have a group geared for middle school students.

Due to my love of being a part of the high school youth group, I thought it would benefit middle school students to have their own group. Creating a youth group for middle school students would give them a place for them to feel safe, have fun and meet new friends.

I planned many activities for them, including an ice cream social, a movie night and outdoor game days. In April, I held a “lock-in” that started in the church with Mass and continued with dinner and games at the parish center.

I also started several service projects with them, including making crosses out of palms that I delivered to local nursing homes as Easter gifts for the patients.

I enjoyed seeing the kids grow in their faith and their friendship with each other. The group is relatively small but it continues to grow every week, so I consider it a success.

I plan to pursue a degree in environmental science at Siena College.

Leigh Finan and Emmah Mitrano, Troop #207, Wakefield, South Kingstown Class of 2011 – Everlasting Life Skills

Leigh: This project addressed the lack of activities for special education students at my high school and in my town. These students needed support in becoming independent, confident young adults with basic life and social skills.

To address this need, Emmah Mitrano and I worked with special education teachers to create activities to teach life skills, like handling money and making friends. We ended our project by planning and putting on a movie night where the students were able to practice their social skills and have fun.

I valued the friendships I made with the students and the appreciation I developed for those with disabilities. The teachers said the project brought a level of energy, compassion and inspiration to the students at the Extended Year Program.

I am currently a student at Salve Regina University, majoring in nursing.

Emmah: My project helped teach life skills to mentally handicapped students at my school. Leigh Finan and I went in during the school year Extended School Year Program and taught lessons addressing self-image, self-confidence, reading people’s feelings and money handling. We then put these skills to the test when we took the students to the movies.

One of the most successful aspects of this project was the friendships and connections I made. I grew to know what the students liked and, as the year went on, I was able to apply this knowledge to the activities.

I currently attend the University of Rhode Island, majoring in Communicative Disorders. I look forward to being able to make a difference in peoples’ lives of all ages and to help them communicate effectively, because good communication is essential to a happy and healthy life.

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All of the scouts earning gold awards are eligible for a Young Women of Distinction Award. Three will be awarded, with the top spot getting a $1,000 scholarship, and the two runner-ups receiving $500.

Also on the Higher Awards Committee is Narragansett’s Carolyn Dyer. She is an eight-year member of the committee, and she has been involved in girl scouts for more than 35 years.