Girl Scouts of Historic Georgia 2020 Gold Award Girl Scouts

Girl Scouts of Historic Georgia
 2020 Gold Award Girl Scouts

Naiomi Cookson
Savannah, GA

One Stitch at a Time
Collaborating with volunteers from "Loop it Up", Naiomi
developed a crochet program that teaches children the
basics of crochet, a life skill that can be used for
clothing construction, income generation, and
enjoyment. Naia developed lessons, filmed the videos
and built a website
(https://ngirlscouts.wixsite.com/onestitchatatime)and an
Instagram page to share her project.

Tabitha Daniels
Hinesville, GA

STEAM for Future Generations
With the input of STEM teachers and help from her
volunteer team, Tabitha created self contained,
renewable take home STEM project bags for K-5
elementary school students. The STEM bags reinforce
early exposure to STEM education for the student and
provide an interactive hands on experience for the
family. Her hope is to inspire young minds to think
outside the box and understand that they are only limited
by their imaginations.

Gwenivere Friedman
Evans, GA

Blessing Blankets
Gwenivere's project addressed the needs of children
who have experienced trauma. She and her team made
comfort blankets and donated them to the local sheriff's
department. The sheriff distributes the blankets to first
responders in the county, who in turn give them to
children who are in the midst of a traumatizing
experience. Her team members will carry on the
project.

Kirsten Groskreutz
Winder, GA

Outdoor Classroom
Kirsten's project added outdoor classroom space to the
church where her Girl Scout troop meets. With the help
of her team and community donations, Kirsten
constructed a fire pit and seating area at the church.
The space is now being used by church members, Girl
Scouts and other community groups. Her area will be
kept up by the church and other groups.

Isabella Guidera
Savannah, GA

Outdoor Spaces for Coastal Pet Rescue
Isabella's project enhanced and increased the usable
outdoor space at Coastal Pet Rescue. With her team,
she developed new, safe areas for meeting, planning,
training, human/animal interaction and education.
Isabella's social media team helped to spread
awareness and increase volunteer engagement at the
non-profit animal care facility.

Virginia Hill
Gainesville, GA

Natural Remedies for Athletes
Virginia's project raises awareness and educates
athletes and others about the benefits of using natural
remedies for commons ailments. After extensive
research and consultations with experts, Virginia
created an education program. Working with her team,
Virginia created an Instagram page to provide
information. This platform has been viewed by
thousands of people and has resulted in over 500
followers who have learned about healthy alternatives.

Abigail Kennedy
Monroe, GA

Outdoor Classroom
Abigail and her team designed and built an outdoor
classroom for Grayson Elementary school in Monroe.
She worked with science and art teachers, volunteers
and community businesses to obtain the materials and
labor needed to educate the teachers about the benefits
of outdoor learning and reach her project's goals.

Louisa Leimbach
Gainesville, GA

Costume Inventory
Louisa is a dancer and has been involved with her ballet
company since she was 3. She was aware of the lack of
an organized and careful inventory of the thousands of
costumes and props her ballet company used for
productions and rentals. She and her volunteers
completed an extremely detailed photographic inventory
and organized it. Louisa created a system and database
for current and future costume inventory needs and
trained the costumers in it's use.

Amanda Livingstone
Dawsonville, GA

Band Needs a Trailer
Amanda's project benefited Dawson High School's
Marching Band. With the help of dozens of fellow band
members and students, faculty members, the school
board, community donors and family and friends,
Amanda organized a benefit clinic/concert for her band
and raised enough money to purchase a much needed
equipment trailer for the marching band.

Madison McDaniel
Columbus, GA

F.A.M.E.- Financial Aid Made Easy
Madison addressed the issue of low college application
rates in her community by developing a college
application workshop. She worked with her local
Goodwill and college entrance professionals to deliver a
workshop with information on financial aid, essay
writing, and tips for submitting successful college
applications. Columbus Goodwill will continue to host
the event annually.

Elizabeth Olig
Evans, GA

Planting for Pollinators
Libby's Pollinator Garden project addressed the
decrease of Georgia native pollinators and provided an
outdoor hands on space for learning at Euchee Creek
Elementary school. She worked with the Xerces Society,
the State Botanical Garden and community supporters
to secure the plants, signage, pamphlets, supplies and
equipment needed for her garden. She also organized
the school's students and teachers to participate in
Journey North's Symbolic Migration and Georgia's Great
Pollinator Census, and had the garden certified as a
pollinator habitat - educational programs that teach to
Georgia's Standards of Excellence and raise awareness
about pollinators.

Sydnie Roberds
Savannah, GA

Chatham Artillery Historic Collection
Sydnie's project combined her love of history with the
needs of the local National Guard Armory. Working with
Armory personnel and local volunteers, Sydnie designed
a cataloging framework for their extensive historical
collection and cataloged the items they already had.
She also designed an exhibit which celebrates the
history and achievements of the Chatham Artillery and
other volunteer military units in the Savannah area.

Tymea Scott-Wilson
Hinesville, GA

Shade for All
Tymea worked with Keep Liberty Beautiful, community
businesses and local volunteers to improve the safety,
utility and beauty of outdoor garden space adjacent to
the library, where many local students and visitors come
daily. Her team built a pergola and arbors for much
needed shade. They also added a rock pathway and
enhanced the garden. One of Tymea's biggest
challenges was Hurricane Dorian, which washed much
of her beginning work away. She persevered, found
hurricane resistant solutions, and ultimately was
successful in creating a much needed beautiful outdoor
space upgrade.

Kelly Shay
Evans, GA

School Bus Safety
Kelly's project addressed the surprising lack of school
bus safety education in the nation, where children under
the age of 10 are sadly injured and/or killed in school
bus accidents each year. Kelly worked with safety
professionals, teachers, and media specialists to write
an engaging story that keeps safety on children's minds
through a familiar song. She then read the story to
kindergarten classrooms all over her community and
donated her book and a CD to elementary schools in
Columbia County.

Katherine Stigall
Richmond Hills, GA

Dress to Feel Your Best
Katherine project helps family members of patients who
are battling difficult or terminal illness by providing a
free, sanitary and accessible closet of clothing items for
every occasion. She worked with Howard Hand in Hand
Cancer Support Program and a local social worker to
develop donations, a storage and inventory system and
an appointment calendar that allows people in need to
access the donated items in a way that makes them feel
safe and cared for too.

Mary Surber
Guyton, GA

What the Eyes Can’t See
Mary's project informs and educates middle and high
school students about stress and anxiety, and gives
them tools to handle these things in their own lives, and
also how to support those they may know who are
struggling. With the input of mental health
professionals, Mary and her team produced a video
series that addresses these issues. She's had hundreds
of views and lots of positive feedback from the
community.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEd5BoFuZiE&featu
re=youtu.be

Ciera Walker
Columbus, GA

Young Black Writers
To address falling literacy rates, Ciera and her team
designed and implemented a fun and inclusive hands on
curriculum for 3rd - 5th grade students. The program
develops students' writing and public speaking skills,
aligns with Georgia curriculum standards and makes
writing and public speaking activities enjoyable.
Because of her positive results, her project has been
adopted and will be continued by the after school
program at Wesley Heights Elementary School in
Columbus.

Alexandra Yu
Augusta, GA

Increase Voter Awareness
Alexandra's project addressed the issue of low voter
registration rates among young people. She combined
her love of violin into her project and with the input of
the League of Women Voters, created a voter awareness
video that was shared in local high schools, at
community events and on social media. The video lets
people know the exact steps to take to register to vote,
and Alexandra helped many young people get
registered.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqP1ja99288