Casey Blankenship from Carterville has received the Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest award a Girl Scout can receive. Casey completed her Girl Scout Gold Award project during her senior year at Carterville High School in 2013. For her project, Casey raised awareness about Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, a powerful strain of staph bacteria, which took the life of her grandmother. To educate the public, Casey first gave presentations around the community educating people on the facts of MRSA and methods to prevent it. She also handed out informational packets to summer lunch programs, preschools, Girl Scout and Boy Scout troops, day cares, nursing homes, area schools, as well as area shops. To extend her message to a worldwide audience, she created a video demonstrating hand washing techniques that can prevent the spread of the infection and shared it on YouTube.
“This project is very dear to my heart,” said Casey. “First, I love Girl Scouts and earning the Girl Scout Gold Award has been my ultimate goal. Secondly, I dedicated this project to my Grandma Suzann who died of MRSA. I feel that sharing my story and then discussing what MRSA is and how it is contracted is so very important.”
Casey added that the project helped her develop valuable skills, such as time management, scriptwriting, editing, presenting and teaching. She also felt that earning the Girl Scout Gold Award increased her confidence. “It was all such a learning experience,” she said. “I learned that no task is too big or too hard for me to accomplish.”
Casey is the daughter Scott and Martha Blankenship. She currently attends Murray State University where is she majoring in Nursing. Casey has been a Girl Scout for 14 years and received the Girl Scout Bronze Award and Girl Scout Silver Award prior to earning the Girl Scout Gold Award.
Watch Casey's PSA: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=at6BKhFXJes&feature=youtu.be
Watch Casey's PSA: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=at6BKhFXJes&feature=youtu.be
The Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest award a Girl Scout can earn, recognizes a Girl Scout's commitment to excellence as she develops skills and values to meet present and future challenges in her life. To earn the Girl Scout Gold Award, a Girl Scout Senior or Girl Scout Ambassador must design and carry out a project that fulfills a need within a girl’s community, creates change, and is sustainable. The project must be completed with a suggested minimum of 80 hours of work. Only about 6 percent of eligible girls earn the prestigious Girl Scout Gold Award.
Today, Girl Scouts of the U.S.A. is the largest voluntary organization for girls in the world. Its sole focus is to meet the needs of all girls (ages 5-17) from diverse racial, ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds. Today’s Girl Scouts not only enjoy camping and crafts, but they also explore math and science and learn about diversity, good citizenship, leadership and teamwork. Girl Scouting is the place where girls experience the fun, friendship and power of girls together.
