Girl Scouts of Greater Los Angeles recently announced that Emily M., a high school senior in the William S. Hart School District, has earned Girl Scouting’s highest honor, the Gold Award. Emily’s Gold Award project, titled “Savored Memories Will Never Be Forgotten,” created resources for families in the Greater Los Angeles community who have members battling cognitive decline. Her project encouraged connection, supported families in making lasting memories and brought joy to senior community members.

“When I was 12 years old, my grandmother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and Dementia,” Emily said. “I remember how difficult it was to find activities that would bring her joy. I used my personal experience as inspiration and worked to empower others to confidently interact with their family members who have these diseases. This Gold Award project is dedicated to my Nana.”

Emily created a website and wrote an article with resources and activities families can do together to strengthen cognition and create memories. Her article titled “A Teenager’s Perspective on Caring for a Senior Family Member,” encourages younger family members to play an active role in their grandparents’ or other elderly family members’ lives. She also built a raised garden bed and sensory boards, partnering with OneGeneration, an intergenerational daycare facility.

On June 4, GSGLA honored the largest Gold Award class in the nation for the 12th year in a row at a ceremony at the Pasadena Civic Center; a total of 212 local Girl Scouts contributed over 20,000 hours implementing sustainable change in their communities. Projects focused on reducing carbon footprints, introducing underrepresented groups to technology, raising fentanyl awareness among teens, and managing mental and physical health, to name a few.

About the Girl Scout Gold Award

Girl Scouts in 10th – 12th grades can earn the Gold Award—the highest award in Girl Scouting—by developing and carrying out lasting solutions to issues in their neighborhoods and beyond. The Gold Award is a national standard that acknowledges a Girl Scout’s accomplishments, leadership, commitment, creativity, and personal effort to make the world a better place. Each Gold Award is a significant achievement in a Girl Scout’s life and an extension and compilation of all she has learned through her Girl Scout experience. Outside of regular schoolwork and extracurricular activities, Girl Scouts spend 80+ hours solving a problem in their community they are passionate about. Girl Scouts who achieve the Gold Award distinguish themselves from peers through their perseverance and grit, while building their resumes that set them up for college scholarships and future career opportunities. According to recent research, Girl Scouts who earn the Gold Award 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.

– Seventy-two percent of Gold Award Girl Scouts said earning their Gold Award helped them get a scholarship.

– Once achieved, Gold Award Girl Scouts entering any of the U.S. military branches will immediately rise one rank.

To learn more about the Girl Scout Gold Award, visit girlscoutsla.org/goldaward.

About Girl Scouts of Greater Los Angeles
Girl Scouts of Greater Los Angeles (GSGLA), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, serves more than 33,000 girls in partnership with more than 17,000 adult members and volunteers throughout the communities of Los Angeles County, and parts of Kern and San Bernardino counties. GSGLA is the largest girl-serving nonprofit agency in Los Angeles, with programs in entrepreneurship, life skills, outdoor, and STE(A)M, building girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place. Backed by the worldwide Girl Scouts movement that includes 1.5 million members and millions of alumnae, Girl Scouts in our council lead the way as they find their voices and make changes that affect the issues most important to them. To learn more, visit www.girlscoutsla.org.