One girl worked with her city council to add a sidewalk on a previously dangerous road for pedestrians; another developed and trademarked a toy to ameliorate the stress of hospitalized kids and has a patent pending; one young woman organized a program for community members to donate their homegrown produce to underserved families — these are just three of the 343 girls who have collectively spent more than 27,440 hours using everything they’ve learned in Girl Scouts to lead positive change in greater Los Angeles.

“Through Girl Scouting and earning my Gold Award, I have learned numerous valuable lessons such as taking responsibility for my actions, being an accountable individual, honesty, and the importance of both the individual and teamwork,” said Gold Award recipient Victoria Vitalich of San Pedro.

“I’ve realized that much more can be accomplished when many are involved in a cause,” said Erika Weiler of Montrose. “Creating a common goal, such as advocating for underserved families while reducing the carbon footprint, meant that everyone I led for my project found something to motivate their participation.”

The Girl Scout Gold Award is a national award with significant standards that elevate a girl’s leadership skills, creativity, value, and efforts to make the world a better place. Earning the Gold Award requires the planning and implementation of a challenging, large-scale project that is innovative, engages others, and has a lasting impact on its targeted community. The prestigious award recognizes Senior and Ambassador Girl Scouts — girls in ninth through 12th grades — for outstanding accomplishments in leadership, community service, career planning, and personal development.

“In Girl Scouts, girls don’t just talk about change — they step up and take action to make the world a better place on a personal, community, state, national, or international level,” said Girl Scouts of Greater Los Angeles Chief Executive Officer Lise L. Luttgens. “We are so very proud of these 343 remarkable young women and are amazed by their ambition, commitment, and good will. They have made the world a better place.”

The girls will be honored by local council, Girl Scouts of Greater Los Angeles, in a ceremony on June 8 in Pasadena.

Canyon Country

Brittany Barlog

Castaic

Victoria Zavala

Newhall

Carissa Costanzo

Katherine Linn

Santa Clarita

Victoria Alandy

Natalie Ferrante

Amanda Howell

Nandi Moore

Amelia Pear

Saugus

Sydney Hild

Candice Rose

Caren Rosen

Stevenson Ranch

Mackenna Basore

Nicole Hendry

Miyako Yamamoto

Valencia

Kristen Cooper

Jennifer Davis

Madison Javitz

Samantha Sharman

Kayla Stafford

Rachel Stotler

Emily Tarantini

Leina Verrier

Megan Waldau

ABOUT GIRL SCOUTS OF GREATER LOS ANGELES

Girl Scouts of Greater Los Angeles serves more than 40,000 girls in partnership with more than 20,000 volunteers throughout the diverse communities of Los Angeles County and parts of Kern, San Bernardino, and Ventura counties. The council engages girls through programs in Leadership, Business and Financial Literacy, Outdoor Adventure, STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, math), and Healthy Living. To join, volunteer, reconnect, or support, visit www.girlscoutsla.org or call 1-888-GSGLA-4-U.