Girl Scouts Carolinas Peaks to Piedmont is pleased to announce that Ella Evans, Morganton, has earned her Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest award in Girl Scouting.
Evans, daughter of SR and Amy Evans and a member of Girl Scout Troop 12949, originally planned to teach dental hygiene classes and distribute health kits to citizens of a community in Guatemala (Covadonga) in partnership with her church. When COVID-19 hit, she had already put together about 200 dental hygiene kits to distribute in Guatemala and had to find a different avenue to distribute the kits. With the help of the local elementary school principal, she updated her kits to include information regarding COVD-19 (in both English and Spanish), several reusable face masks, hand sanitizer, soap and jump ropes and bubbles for the children, in addition to the dental hygiene tools/information that was originally included. Her kits explained to the families the importance of dental hygiene and demonstrated how to use the tools. Evans was able to deliver 150 kits to 30 families.
The Gold Award represents the highest achievement in Girl Scouting, recognizing girls in grades 9 through 12 who demonstrate extraordinary leadership through sustainable and measurable Take Action projects. Each girl must dedicate a minimum of 80 hours to planning and carrying out her project, which must benefit the community and have long lasting impact.
“Earning the Girl Scout Gold Award designation is truly a remarkable achievement. It is the culmination of so many things- from a girl’s self-discipline and leadership abilities to time management and the creativity, initiative and mastery of skills it takes to complete these kind of projects,” said Lane Cook, chief executive officer of Girl Scouts Carolinas Peaks to Piedmont. “Every girl who earns this prestigious award is making a difference not only in her community, but her own life as well. The skills gained through the Gold Award process are ones that will be used often in her future endeavors.”
Started in 1916 as the Golden Eaglet, thousands of Girl Scouts earn the Girl Scout Gold Award each year. Earning the Gold Award opens doors to scholarships, preferred admission tracks for college and amazing career opportunities—as well as skills that set girls up for success, like strategic thinking, communication, collaboration, problem solving and time management.
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