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Change the world, Girl Scout
Gold Award Girl Scouts are rock stars, role models, and real-life heroes. How do they do it? By using everything they’ve learned as a Girl Scout to solve a problem in their community or make a lasting change in their world.
Seniors and Ambassadors who want to go for the Gold Award build a team of trusted adults, peers, and leaders in their community to guide them through challenges and support their success.
Plus? Nothing beats that feeling of seeing real, lasting, and sustainable change and knowing it was you who made it happen. It changes the way you see your place in the world—and how the world sees you.
You can become a Gold Award Girl Scout if you:
- Are in ninth, tenth, eleventh, or twelfth grade
- Are a registered Girl Scout Senior or Ambassador
- Have earned the Silver Award, completed a Senior or Ambassador Journey or a Leadership Award
- Must have attend a Silver & Gold Award Workshop or Gold Award Workshop. Visit the Event Calendar HERE to choose a workshop to attend.
They did it and so can you!
Celebrating our Gold Award Girl Scouts!
2025 
Adopt a Box Program
Katrina Larsen • Saratoga
Katrina wanted to address the issue of food insecurity in communities across the nation, so she created an Adopt-a-Box website. Community members can use the website to connect to sites to donate food items. Families can also use the website to find food blessing boxes to receive food donations they need.
Altamont Seed Library
Parker Duerr • Altamont
Parker knew there was a lack of fresh produce and there is a great deal of food insecurity for people and families, especially in smaller towns. Their solution to this was to create a library of seeds for people to use to plant new seeds and different types of food in their gardens. The seed library can be found at the Altamont Public Library and will continue into the future.
Bat Boxes for My Community
Hannah Szymanski • Gansevoort
Hannah wanted to address the issue of the declining bat population due to unsafe environments for bats to hibernate and raise their young. She worked with a bat expert from the DEC, (Department of Environmental Conservation) to build and install 10 boxes at Camp Saratoga. These bat boxes provide a safe home for the bats to roost and raise young.
Children's Book About Micro and Macro Plastics
Inara Ilse • East Schodack
Inara wanted to educate people about micro and macro plastics and their impact on the world, along with their dangers. She wrote a children's book about these plastics, where they come from, and how to limit single-use plastics usage every day. Her book was published on Amazon had there are two copies at local libraries for the community to read.
Code Blue Bags for the Homeless
Isabella "Wren" Gambelunghe • Delmar
Wren's project addressed the issue of the lack of living essentials among women living in homeless shelters. She collected supplies and assembled 200 Code Blue Bags containing winter hats, gloves, toiletries, and hand warmers that were delivered to local shelters. While collecting donated items she spread awareness about Code Blue Bags and how others can help.
Girl Scouts for All
Samantha Morlitz • Latham
Samantha wanted to help everyone feel welcome in Girl Scouts, so she created a website full of resources for caregivers and troop leaders to help everyone of all abilities to participate in Girl Scouting. The information includes tips for working with Autism, hearing impairment, ADHD, and vision loss, along with how to make the resources available for all Girl Scouts.
Green Spaces
Indian Kill Trail Refurbishment
Viviene Rogers • Ballston Spa
Viviene wanted people to understand and experience nature. She refurbished he local Indian Kill hiking trail to make using it easier. She created maps of the trail and activities for families to do while hiking. These are found online so visitors can download and print before arriving.
Prayer Bench
Sofia Laurer • Saratoga Springs
Inspired by her grandmother, "Nonna", who used the church to acclimate to the United States after immigrating, Sofia built an outdoor kneeling bench. This kneeling bench is used by community members who may not know how to cope with events in their lives or different feelings. A QR code on the bench shows community members different prayers to use to cope with different emotions.
Puzzle Swap Box
Sarah Elhassan • Mechanicville
Sarah understood there could be social isolation and a lack of mental engagement for senior citizens. To address this problem, she designed and built a puzzle swap box that was installed outside the Mechanicville Senior Citizen Center. Seniors visiting the center can take puzzles out of the swap box and work together to put them together and then return them for others to use.
Raised Butterfly Garden
SHAC Daycare Playground
Rachael Strickland • Averill Park
Sky High Community Center provides low-cost childcare to their community. The issue Rachael added was that the brand-new daycare needed a playground for children ages 2 - 5. Rachael informed and educated the community on the importance of outside playgrounds and socialization through a website she created. She was able to build a slide, swings, and a climbing structure.
Tackling Garlic Mustard in Burnt Hills and New York State
Dorothea DeMarle • Burnt Hills
Dorothea addressed the issue of garlic mustard as an invasive species in New York State which is devastating local ecosystems. She wanted to make more people aware of the plant and what they can do to stop the spread of garlic mustard. She created a book to educate others about garlic mustard which is available online.
Veterans Banners for Clifton Park
Erin Fariello • Clifton Park
Erin wanted to address the lack of representation for veterans in Clifton Park. She created a system for families to purchase a banner for their veterans to be displayed around town for others to view their service. Currently there are 40 banners throughout the town.
White Nose Syndrome Educational Book Project
Margaret DeMarle • Burnt Hills
Margaret wrote a children's book about white nose syndrome in bats. This syndrome is caused by a fungus and has killed over 90% of three different bat species. This book explains the syndrome and how people can protect bats from it. Her book is available on Amazon and creates a national and global link to this issue.
2024
Aid to Ukraine and Ukrainian Refugees
Natalka Petroff • Clifton Park
Natalka wanted to help Ukrainian refugees new to the capital district. At her local Ukrainian School she created basic care bags containing toiletries, and created a system for people to donate clothing and dance shoes so those new to the area could come and take what they need. She then spent time in the school classrooms talking with students about different ways they could help refugees.
Bat House and Bee Hotels
Emily Strife • Clifton Park
Due to rising mosquito populations and declining bee populations, Emily built and installed bat houses and bee hotels along local hiking trails. By educating her community, she demonstrated helping your local ecosystem does not have to be hard and everyone can make a difference.
Bilingual Busy Bags
Bridge to Wellness
Kyla Levin • Delmar
Kyla wanted to share her love of meditation and encourage others to get outside and meditate. She created a trail that brings visitors to a bridge she built. Over the bridge is a clear area for meditation and a worry well at Lawson’s Lake. Here, visitors can toss stones into the well to let go of their worries and build good mental health skills while enjoying the outdoors.
Campaign & Lobby Efforts for Legislation for Free Meals for NY
Closet Swap
East Greenbush Military Banners
Cayden Williams • Corinth
Cayden wanted to increase her community's comfort and stability when it comes to clothing security and decreasing the amount of clothing and fabric entering landfills each year. She created an annual event called Closet Swap, a chance for community members to take free clothes instead of purchasing new fast fashion and help prevent these clothes from being thrown away. At the first event, 2,000 pounds of clothes were donated and saved from landfills, 1,212 pounds were taken home by 150 community members.
Feral Feline Community Management
Food for Friends
Kaitlin Sprouse • Howes Caves
Kaitlin built 10 insulated cat shelters and dispersed them around her community. Each cat shelter acts as a warm space for stray cats in poor weather and the winter. These shelters also act as a way for the property owners to safely catch stray animals to bring to spay and neuter clinics. This helps cut down on the stray cat population and educates the community on the value of Trap Vaccinate Return programs.
Project Access: Putting Books into the Hands of Homeless Children
Restoration Garden at Averill Park High School
Jordan Frank • Niskayuna
Jordans project worked to increase public awareness of the connection between a lack of books and literacy skills. Jordan hosted a book drive in her community. Over 3,000 books were collected and organized into bookshelves for the Schenectady City Mission Family Life Center. The new library is free to use for the families staying at the Schenectady City Mission.
Walkable New York
Warming Hut
Kathryn Campbell • Greenwich
To provide a safe haven for snowmobilers, hikers, and landowners -Kathryn installed a shed to act as a warming hut in poor weather conditions. This warming hut acts as a place for snowmobilers to stop and warm up, escape poor weather, socialize, make lunch, get first aid, and use tools for minor repairs.
2026
Chango Musical Club
Molly H. · Round Lake
Molly's Gold Award Project was to address the issue of Chango Elementary School not having a Musical Theater program since most other schools in the school district had one. Molly worked to create the Chango Musical Club she partnered with the school PTA in its first year as part of the March Clubs Program where 23 children participated and learned a selection from Matilda that they performed in front of their friends and families. In the second year of the Chango Musical Club there were 40 children who were able to perform again in front of a large crowd. Her project will be sustained through high school students who will lead the club for future performances.
Dispose It: Improving Recycling and Composting Habits on Campus
Teens and the Fire Services
Schuyler R. · Latham
Schuyler wanted to address the issue of decreased membership in Volunteer Fire Departments; previous media campaigns were focused on adults who were already interested in joining Volunteer Fire Departments. Schuyler wanted to address the problem by targeting teens in the community locally and globally. She started with a teen focused survey which illustrated a surprising finding where while teens are volunteering in their community, they were not volunteering for fire services since they believed they must be a career firefighter to join a department. To address the root cause of the issue, she created a website (www.ignitethegold.com), a video and flyers. She shared the resources with Homeschool groups, Guidance Departments, social media, You Tube and the public. Schuyler also began a relationship with the Youth in Fire Services Coordinator for the Firefighters Association of NYS and placed a display in the youth sector of their museum. Schuyler was invited to attend several Community and Fire Prevention Events where she surpassed her intended goal for distributing information. Her website and video will continue to visit and view in the future for others to learn more about volunteering.
Women in Racing
Sloan C. · Altamont
Sloan wanted to address the problem of the lack of women in motorsports by spreading awareness, a sport she participates in and views the lack of diversity. She created a social media awareness page which received almost 17,000 views and reached out to many different audiences to give them perspective on women in racing. A "Girl Scout Day" was also hosted at the racetrack where she races where she talked to younger girls about the sport.
Gold Award Proposal must be submitted by March 30th of 12th grade year for Silver and Gold Award Committee approval. The Gold Award Final report must be submitted by July 31st of the year you are graduating for Silver and Gold Committee approval.
How to earn the Girl Scout Gold Award
- Let our council know you want to earn it. Email highestawards@girlscoutsneny.org for help.
- Find an issue in your community and world that you care about and would like to resolve.
- Learn everything you can about the issue through research with trusted sources and talking to experts on the issue.
- Form a team by identifying experts and people in your community who could help you.
- Think about the root cause of an issue, then make a plan of how you and your team could tackle it.
- Create a Go Gold account in the portal HERE
- Follow the steps and then submit your project proposal for review by the Silver and Gold Award at their monthly meeting for approval or recommendations on how to improve your proposal for approval.
- Lead your team and carry out your plan.
- Reflect on the change you’ve created in your community and the world, share your story, and inspire others to make a difference, too.
- Submit your Gold Award Final report through the Go Gold Portal in the account you have created. Include any supporting documents, pictures, videos, links etc. when submitting your final report
More resources
- Project Advisor Guide (PDF)
- 2026 Adult Guide (PDF)
- 2026 Guide for Leaders (PDF)
- 2026 Your Guide to Going Gold (PDF)
- Go Gold Webpage
Resources
Highest Award Prerequisites & FAQ
Leadership Awards
Celebrate all the ways you lead–yourself, your team, and your community–with new and updated leadership awards.
LEARN MORE
Highest Award FAQ
Going for your Bronze, Silver, or Gold Award? Get answers to the most common questions to get started.
LEARN MOREHey, grownups!
If you have questions about the Gold Award, please email highestawards@girlscoutsneny.org
