Julia Gladstone of Girl Scout Troop 2876 in Guilford County has earned the Girl Scout Gold Award for a community leadership and service project that provides stress relief for young hospital patients and their families.
Aiming to address the importance of the arts and the need for calming activities in pediatric hospitals, the Girl Scout Ambassador focused on increasing accessibility for her project, “Care Through Coloring,” so more recreational therapists and art therapists have easy access to free coloring pages created by local high school art students.
“Donated coloring books cannot be shared across patients due to safety protocols, and research suggests that coloring is a good alternative to the use of electronics,” said Gladstone, a Girl Scout of 13 years. “Most of the time, patients, especially older ones, cannot find pages in donated coloring books that interest them. My program aims to address the problem through the creation of a website which houses coloring pages with wide-ranging themes created by elementary, middle and high school students.”
To promote participation in her project, Gladstone met with her high school advisor, communicated with art teachers at schools in her area and planned and distributed promotional flyers. Gladstone created www.carethroughcoloring.com and introduced the website to local children’s hospitals by donating Care Through Coloring kits that included colored pencils, crayons and printer paper.
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.
“In addition, I sent my completed website to school districts throughout North Carolina and the national associations for Art Therapists and Recreational Therapists,” said the Gold Award Girl Scout. “Ultimately, my project has impacted me as a person by providing me with an outlet for my art and for others to share their creations while uplifting pediatric patients who may be struggling both physically and emotionally.”
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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