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.

Caroline Stewart from Belleville Has Earned the Girl Scout Gold Award

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

For her Girl Scout Gold Award project, called Washington Park Good Samaritan Center Playground, Caroline constructed an urban playground at the Good Samaritan Center in Washington Park. In the past, she assisted with Vacation Bible School and her and other volunteers noticed that the existing playground was unsafe. Through her efforts, a new playground was built from recycled materials that included a swing, a slide, a seesaw and a climbing structure. In addition, a basketball court was installed from grant money that had been received.

“I learned time management, better interpersonal communications skills, and how to ask for help when I needed it,” Caroline said of what she learned by completing her Girl Scout Gold Award project.

Caroline is the daughter of Doug and Christine Stewart. She graduated from Governor French Academy in 2017 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.