Abby DeHart of Girl Scout Troop 10441 in Catawba County has earned the Girl Scout Gold Award for a community leadership and service project that connects people who need help with those who want to give it.
Aiming to strengthen relationships within her community, the Girl Scout Ambassador wrote and published a guidebook titled The Helping Network: How to Ask for Help When You Need it…and Give Help When You Can. Through interviews with caregivers, church leaders and community members, she gathered practical advice and personal stories to create simple tools to help people both offer and accept support with confidence and compassion.
“Asking for help feels hard, and offering help isn’t always simple,” said DeHart, a Girl Scout of 12 years. “Most of us would probably do more if it felt more comfortable and if we had specific steps to get us started. That’s why I decided to create a small how-to guidebook with practical advice for people on both sides.”
Abby compiled her research into a published book available on Amazon and shared it with churches, youth groups and local organizations. Her guide includes a multitude of conversation tips and simple ways to organize support, helping close what she calls the “caring gap” in her community.
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.
“This project really changed the way I think about helping others,” said the Gold Award Girl Scout. “I’ve always been a helper at heart, but being around people who were sick used to make me uncomfortable. Through this project, I learned that helping others isn’t about having the perfect words, it’s about being present and understanding what the other person needs.”
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 2025, 30 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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