Twenty-nine Girl Scouts who demonstrated outstanding leadership through initiating and completing community service projects were recognized with the prestigious Gold Award at Presbyterian College on May 3.
Of those, three were in attendance from Aiken - Caroline Miller, Katie Rogers and Victoria Warner.
The Gold Award is the highest award a Girl Scout Senior or Ambassador in ninth through 12th grades may earn.
On average, these hard-working, young leaders completed a minimum of 80 hours each to meet all the requirements needed to earn the award.
Each Girl Scout Gold Award recipient individually researched the needs of her community, developed a plan to address this need while creating change or action with long-term sustainability, and implemented the plan.
For her Gold Award project, Girl Scout Senior Caroline Miller, Troop 5225, taught Girl Scout members, adults and other teenagers how to sew crafted turtles to send to children with chronic or life-threatening illnesses at the Painted Turtle Club in California. Miller's parents are Katie and Neil Miller. Her troop leader is March Vernon.
Girl Scout Ambassador Katie Rogers, Troop 5245, chose to support the after-school program at the Hope Center in Graniteville. She collected donations of school supplies for the children and tutors. With other donated supplies she built classroom bookshelves and a recreation room loft with a cozy reading area. Rogers' parents are Lane and Kathy Rogers. Her troop leader is her mother.
The Gold Award project goal of Girl Scout Senior Victoria Warner, Troop 5225, was to promote healthy living among elementary-aged children. She created a three-week training program to help prepare children in first through fifth grades for a 1-mile fun run. Her parents are Jennifer and John Kolmar. Marcy Vernon is her troop leader.
Noting that Gold Award recipients, on average, spend one to two years on their projects, Kim Hutzell, president and CEO of Girl Scouts of South Carolina - Mountains to Midlands, said, "Gold Award recipients have extraordinary dedication, perseverance and leadership in making the world a better place. Collectively, this year's 29 recipients have spent more than 2,320 hours improving their communities. From receiving special consideration to many universities and colleges for acceptance and scholarships, to the potential of receiving advanced rank in the U.S. Armed Forces, these young ladies are joining the 59 million Girl Scout alumnae who report a higher education level, income and sense of self than their non-alumnae peers."
The program also honored 100 Silver Award achievers.
The Silver Award is the highest honor to earn for girls ages 11 to 14, or in sixth through eighth grades. It recognizes their outstanding efforts to improve their own lives and the lives of others.
The requirements for this award are designed to strengthen each girl's leadership skills, encourage her to explore career opportunities, and to make a commitment to self-improvement.
Having evolved from a long line of elite Girl Scout awards, going back as far as 1916, and previously known as the Golden Eagle of Merit, then the Golden Eaglet, First Class and Curved Bar, the Gold Award was first earned in 1980.