Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois (GSSI) is pleased to announce that Sarah Pavlisin from Lebanon has earned the Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest award a Girl Scout can receive.
For her Girl Scout Gold Award project, called The Joy of Reading, Sarah teamed up with a special education teacher in St. Louis who was looking to construct a library with books that met the needs of her students. Not only did Sarah want to create the library where these students could read, but she also wanted to make it a safe haven from the stresses of school work and life. Sarah created sensory bags filled with trinkets and balloons filled with flour. She also, with the help of a handyman, built two bookshelves to hold all of the books, toys and games for the library. In addition, Sarah supplied the library with beanbag chairs, a fish tank and fun mood lighting to make the space more appealing and kid friendly.
Sarah’s Girl Scout Gold Award project was a very rewarding experience. “I learned that even though the road to completing this project was difficult, the final product was definitely worth all of the time and effort. The children’s bright smiles and bubbling excitement at the library’s grand opening ceremony made me realize that my project meant so much to them,” said Sarah.
Sarah is the daughter of James and Pennie Pavlisin. She is currently a senior at O’Fallon Township High School. Sarah has been a Girl Scout for 13 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.
