Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois (GSSI) is pleased to announce that Kira Mantz from O’Fallon has earned the Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest award a Girl Scout can receive.
For her Girl Scout Gold Award project, called Waste Not, Want Not, Kira partnered with State Park Food Pantry. She realized there was a need for an inventory control system for when the pantry moved into their new building. Kira created an operation system, purchased tables, wrote a training notebook with all the plans, labeled shelves and typed food safety information. In addition, she hosted a flash mob/toiletry drive, started a blog and held a work day for her troop.
This Girl Scout Gold Award project was a great learning experience for Kira. “Most importantly, I appreciate all the leadership skills I gained while in Girl Scouts; they helped me through the entire project,” said Kira.
Kira is the daughter of Ryan and Becky Mantz. She is currently a sophomore at O’Fallon Township High School. Kira has been a Girl Scout for 10 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.
