Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois (GSSI) is pleased to announce that Krista VanDriel from O’Fallon has received the Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest award a Girl Scout can receive.
For her Girl Scout Gold Award project, titled Helping the Handicap, Krista built a wheel chair accessible picnic table at the Care Center of Belleville Memorial Hospital. Her newly designed 12-foot wheel chair accessible picnic table now accommodates four wheel chairs. In addition, she worked with girls from the O’Fallon area day camp to build and paint 10 bird houses that now decorate the care center’s two courtyards. In addition, she landscaped and planted a beautiful garden circle with bird bath for residents and their families to enjoy.
“Through my Girl Scout Gold Award project, I learned that communication is key when planning a large project like this; especially with many people involved to complete it. Also, when things don’t go your way, the change might be just as good or better,” VanDriel said.
Krista is the daughter of Jean and Michael VanDriel. She attends O’Fallon High School and has been Girl Scout for 13 years. She plans to attend college and major in Accounting and Business Administration.
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.