The amazing Gold Award Girl Scouts have truly made the world a better place. By their hard work to earn the Gold Award in 2025–2026 they inspire us how to be both dreamers AND doers.
(Learn what it takes—and what it means—to earn the Gold Award, with a general overview at this link.)
Alyssa: Buddies for Life: A Social Emotional Curriculum for High School Special Education Students
Alyssa helped her high school peers in the special education program develop essential social-emotional skills through a curriculum she created. The lessons with student mentors helped special education students build effective relationships, develop a thorough understanding of their emotions, use appropriate problem-solving skills, and initiate self-reflection. The curriculum was used during club meetings of Best Buddies, a non-profit organization that provides students with intellectual and developmental disabilities opportunities to engage with peers and develop their leadership abilities. Alyssa shared her curriculum with other local schools and created a website to expand her reach.
Amelie: Ray Ready: Building a Sun-Safe Future
Amelie focused on skin cancer awareness by teaching youth about sun safety and encouraging daily habits that protect their skin, like using sunscreen, wearing hats, and avoiding tanning beds. Amelie developed and assembled sun safety kits containing sunscreen and SPF lip balm. Over 300 of these kits were distributed at a Back-to-School Block Party, where she also shared printed educational materials on sun protection habits and early signs of skin cancer.
Amelie hosted two community education days at local public pools. At these events, she distributed an additional 200+ sun safety kits and delivered interactive presentations. She also created an online platform designed to inform the public about sun safety practices and to dispel common myths related to skin cancer. Amelie shared her sun safety materials for ongoing use in local dermatology offices and on the Murray State University campus.
Kate: Naturalization & US Citizenship
Kate planned and organized a naturalization ceremony on her school’s campus serving 71 new citizens and guests in January 2025. She scheduled, planned, and led meetings with host and ceremony decisionmakers, including school officials, federal judges, and other personnel. Kate directed all event logistics including planning, coordinating the design of an event program, and leading the set-up crew in ceremony coordination.
She also ensured that a naturalization ceremony will be held annually for the community at Sacred Heart Schools. Kate also created a resource to help others host a naturalization ceremony more easily. She increased civic education in the community as a result of the educational resource she created for her school and the Western District Court of Kentucky.
Lily: Sack for Success
Lily wanted to help low income students have the necessary school supplies they need to be successful in school. She worked with a school in her local school district and got in contact with the Family Resource Coordinator (FRC). The FRC gave Lily a list of the most commonly needed school supplies that low income students need. This led her to create a curriculum that was taught to the schools BETA and Student Technology Leadership Program (STLP) students.
The curriculum taught students about empathy, compassion, and how to plan for and execute a donation drive. After all of the lesson plans were taught, students made flyers and a donation box that was put in a designated spot in the school. The donation drive was successful and students were able to collect the school supplies and distributed these supplies to the FRC. The FRC then distributed all of these supplies to students in need.