The Girl Scouts of Nassau County recently distributed 101 Gold Awards, including one to Olivia Moss of Port Washington, during a ceremony hosted by the United States Merchant Marine Academy. Now in its hundredth year, the Gold Award program recognizes the power and dedication shared by an elite group of young women who earn the highest honor a Girl Scout can achieve. Moss spent more than 80 hours over the past year planning, executing and presenting the results of her project, which aimed to make the world a better place for others as well as herself.
“We are extremely proud to celebrate the achievement of over 100 local young women earning their Girl Scout Gold Award during its 100th year,” said Donna Ceravolo, executive director and CEO of the Girl Scouts of Nassau County. “On average, only five percent of eligible Girl Scouts successfully earn the Gold Award, making Moss part of an exclusive group of women with the tools to become leaders in the 21st century.”
Moss took a creative approach to celebrating and embracing diversity through her project, “PassPORT.” Moss worked with the Port Washington Business Improvement District to encourage local restaurants to develop special family discounts designed to encourage children to explore various types of cuisine. Her goal was to deepen children’s cultural awareness and acceptance through international foods, while at the same time increasing business at local restaurants. Offers were printed in a “PassPORT,” alluding to both the iconic travel document and the name of the town. “PassPORTs” were distributed through schools, the public library, town sporting events and were also available for download on a website that Moss created.
Gold Award projects have positively impacted girls’ lives, their communities and the world for 100 years. Approximately one million Girl Scout alumnae have developed Gold Award projects that addressed local or global issues. After identifying an area of interest, a successful Gold Award recipient performs hours of research and prepares a project proposal to be submitted for feedback and approval to the Girl Scouts Council before embarking on her project. The Girl Scout presents her final conclusions as the last step of the journey.
Lifelong value comes with having earned a Gold Award. According to the Girl Scout Research Institute, Gold Award recipients display more positive life outcomes pertaining to sense of self, life, satisfaction, leadership, life success, community service and civic engagement. Recipients of the award who enlist in the U.S. Armed Forces may receive advanced rank for their achievements and can receive scholarships or other recognition from most colleges or universities.
Notable Gold Award recipients include Jan Hopkins, CNN financial news anchor, and Betsy Boze, senior fellow at American Association of State Colleges and Universities and president at Kent State University Stark.
—Submitted by the Nassau County Girl Scouts
