Gabriella Holmes from Millstadt Has Earned the Girl Scout Gold Award

Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois (GSSI) is pleased to announce that Gabriella Holmes from Millstadt has earned the Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest award a Girl Scout can receive.

For her Girl Scout Gold Award project, called Softball Pitching Fun and Exercise, Gabriella said she wanted to take her love for the game of softball and share it with youth to get them to exercise more and eat healthier. According to Gabriella one of the root causes her project was child obesity and her Gold Award project gave kids a fun way to exercise and taught them healthy eating habits. During her Softball Pitching Camp for youth, she taught exercise and fitness and gave the children healthy eating tips and provided them with a snack each day.

Gabriella said she learned how to work with and teach younger children. “Through this project, I have learned that I enjoy helping younger people and that I can be a leader,” she said.

Gabriella is the daughter of Rick and Tracy Holmes. She is a junior at Belleville West High School and 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.

Sarah Gruenewald from Millstadt Earns the Girl Scout Gold Award

Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois (GSSI) is pleased to announce that Sarah Gruenewald from Millstadt has received the Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest award a Girl Scout can receive. 

 

For her Girl Scout Gold Award project, Sarah renovated the Millstadt Area Food Pantry, which had not had any updates for almost 30 years and was in dire need of new storage and an updated working space.  To help the volunteer-based organization, Sarah was able to reorganize, rebuild and replace worn out fixtures by engaging Millstadt community members and her classmates at Belleville West to share donations, time and skills.  She also worked hard to finance the project by raising funds through participating in babysitting nights, car washes and the Girl Scout Cookie Program with her troop.

 

Under Sarah’s management, the food pantry received new flooring and counters, sturdier shelves and storage that was streamlined to meet volunteer needs and to open up working space.   Belleville West’s Art Club also painted the walls with an upbeat theme to provide an overall more welcoming, positive environment for volunteers and patrons. 

 

“I hope the Food Pantry will be able to serve more hungry people and that those people will receive a bit of encouragement when they step inside,” said Sarah. “I feel that the Food Pantry is now at its full potential.  I wish I had started this sooner.”

 

Along with fulfilling her goal to make a positive impact in her community, Sarah was also grateful for the opportunity to develop valuable leadership skills.  “This project really made me jumpstart skills I didn’t know I have, like speaking in front of a large group and budgeting,” she said.  “Most importantly, I learned that the key to good work is having the right intentions.  The key to success is caring where the work is going and how it will benefit others.  All of these traits will be engrained in me for the rest of my life and affect everything I do. ”

 

Sarah is the daughter of Sharon Gruenewald and David Gruenewald.  She is currently a senior at Belleville Township High School West and a member of Girl Scout Troop #463.

 

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 Gold Award.