Girl Scouts of Oregon and Southwest Washington to Bestow Highest Honor for 25 Gold Award Girl Scouts this Saturday, June 23, 2018
PORTLAND, Ore. – Girl Scouts of Oregon and Southwest Washington (GSOSW) will recognize 25 recipients of the Girl Scout Gold Award in a special ceremony this Saturday, June 23, 2018, in Salem, Oregon in celebration of 102 years of the organization’s highest award.
Who: 25 Gold Award Girl Scouts, as well as Silver and Bronze Award Girl Scouts, their family and friends, plus staff, volunteers and media
What: Celebration of Girl Scouts changing the world and achieving Girl Scouting's highest honors with a keynote address from Girl Scout alumna and Gold Award recipient Elizabeth Dinh, evening news anchor for Fox 12 Oregon
When: June 23, 2018, at 1 p.m.
Where: Willamette Heritage Center, 1313 Mill St SE, Salem, Oregon 97301
R.S.V.P.: The event is by invitation only—interested media must R.S.V.P. by email to: mkenney@girlscoutsosw.org
On-site interviews: GSOSW’s Director of Communications, Sarah Shipe, and Director of Program, Sarah Brown, as well as Gold Award, Silver Award and Bronze Award Girl Scouts, will be available on-site during the day of the event for media interviews.
The Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest honor a Girl Scout can earn, acknowledges each recipient’s dedication to empowering and bettering herself while working to make the world a better place. Just 6% of Girl Scouts earn this prestigious award annually—it has been the pinnacle of the Girl Scout experience since 1916.
“We know that when girls have leadership opportunities when they are young, they are more likely to go on to become leaders in their communities and in their professional lives,” says Sarah Brown, Director of Program for GSOSW. “Through Girl Scouting, GSOSW’s Gold Award Girl Scouts have come to know that they have the ability to make a positive impact. The nature and quality of their Gold Award projects show us that these girls are the leaders of tomorrow, because they are leading today.”
Some of the Gold Award projects completed this year include:
Backpacks for Refugees—backpacks filled with school supplies for refugee students
Bilingual Lending Library— building a bilingual lending library at a local food pantry and collecting books to fill the shelves
Birthday Party Kits for Low-Income Youth— birthday party kits for low-income families, distributed to local shelters and service agencies
Girls Expo—free event to connecting young women to organizations and activities that align with their passions
Me Too—to increase awareness of teen sexual assault
Each Gold Award Girl Scout contributes a minimum of 80 hours to the community through her project, carrying out a plan that has sustainable and measurable, ongoing impact.
“As a Girl Scout alumna, I’m so happy to welcome this next group of talented and smart young women who now join me as a fellow Gold Award recipient,” says Elizabeth Dinh, evening news anchor for FOX 12 Oregon. “It took a lot of hard work and dedication to earn this prestigious award, and I know these Gold Award Girl Scouts will continue to overcome obstacles, pursue their dreams and change the world.”
Girl Scouts celebrates 102 years of Girl Scout Gold Award excellence, innovation, and visionary leadership and continues empowering future generations of girls to follow their dreams, discover their passions and make a global impact.
About Girl Scouts’ Highest Honors
To learn more about Girl Scouts’ highest honors, please visit: http://www.girlscoutsosw.org/en/about-girl-scouts/our-program/girl-awards/highest-awards.html.
About Girl Scouts of Oregon and Southwest Washington
Our council serves 13,955 girls in 37 counties with the help of over 10,000 volunteers. The Girl Scout mission is to build girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place. Every opportunity in Girl Scouting develops these essential skills in an all-girl, inclusive, safe environment. For more information, please visit girlscoutsosw.org.