Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois (GSSI) is pleased to announce that Megan Thompson from Red Bud has received the Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest award a Girl Scout can receive.
For her Girl Scout Gold Award project, called Creating Hope, Megan taught step by step painting classes at nursing homes, hospitals and assisted living facilities. After seeing her great grandma and a childhood friend both battle cancer, she wanted to provide a way for others to help pass their time and create something beautiful. Megan collected art supplies and sewed art bags that were given to cancer patients at Children’s Hospital. In addition, she made step by step painting videos that patients can check out during their hospital stay to help them pass the time, and the videos came with all the supplies needed to create their piece of art.
“Through my project I realized that I can make someone else’s day a little bit better just with a smile, a visit or through art,” Megan said of her Girl Scout Gold Award project.
Megan is the daughter of Rick and Vicki Thompson. She is currently a junior at Red Bud High School. Megan has been a Girl Scout for 12 years.
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 5 percent of eligible girls earn the prestigious 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.
