Naomi Hines of Biltmore Lake has earned the Girl Scout Gold Award for a community leadership and service project that raises awareness of teen mental health and the need for preventive measures through education at a local high school.
The Girl Scout Ambassador partnered with Haywood Early College and its student leaders for her Gold Award project, “Mission Mental Health: Teens Take Control,” to inform them on teen mental health so they can support their peers through early identification of needs, open discussions, accessing resources and modeling healthy habits for stress and anxiety management.
“Understanding teen stress and its causes, as well as the physical and mental impact on teens, is vital to identifying teen stress management strategies.” said Hines, a Girl Scout of 9 years. “Excessive stress experienced by teens has significantly increased detrimental effects on their overall well-being, highlighting the urgent need for effective intervention and support systems.”
Naomi collaborated with the school counselor, Dr. Heather Allen, and developed a peer leader training curriculum focused on teen mental health awareness for the Wolfpack Leaders of Haywood Early College. The presentations include stress management techniques, starting conversations around mental health, how to recognize the signs of someone who needs support and when or how to find adult help.
The Wolfpack Leaders voted to implement this training twice per year for their team and to create another version of the training for the broader student body to use at the beginning of each school year. Naomi also created a student mental health resource center at the school, shared posters and created an Instagram – @teens.takecontrol – to share mental health and stress management tips for teens.
Girls in high school can earn the Girl Scout Gold Award by creating sustainable change on a community or world issue. They address the root cause of a problem, plan and implement innovative solutions to drive change and lead a team of people to success. Each Girl Scout must dedicate a minimum of 80 hours to planning and carrying out their project that benefits the community and has a long-lasting impact.
Gold Award Girl Scouts gain tangible skills and prove they are the leaders our community and world need, and those from the Girl Scouts Carolinas Peaks to Piedmont (GSCP2P) council have created community gardens, addressed issues in foster care, combated bullying in schools and so much more.
“My Gold Award Project not only made me more aware of issues around teen stress and mental health, but it also taught me that I have a voice as an agent of positive change in my community,” said Hines. “I learned that as a leader, I can assess needs, strategically develop a solution and align resources to affect meaningful outcomes that can improve the lives of the people around me.”
Thousands of Girl Scouts across the country earn the Girl Scout Gold Award each year, which first began in 1916 as the Golden Eaglet. Earning the Gold Award opens doors to scholarships, preferred admission tracks for college and amazing career opportunities. In 2024, 40 GSCP2P Girl Scouts earned their Gold Award.
To learn more about earning a Girl Scout Gold Award, visit https://www.girlscoutsp2p.org/en/members/for-girl-scouts/badges-journeys-awards/highest-awards/gold-award.html.
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