Girl Scouts of Western New York is proud to announce Carliana Faller as a 2024 Gold Award Girl Scout.

Project: Food for the Soul

I partnered with Heart, Love and Soul in Niagara Falls to create a recipe book filled with meals that their clients can make with the food that is readily available in their food pantry. I have worked in all aspects of their outreach center, including serving in the soup kitchen, organizing their food pantry and their new social care services center that provides all needs under one roof. I have also interviewed the clients and talked to them about their needs and preferences in food and what they are able to cook in order to make my project feasible to all. To raise the necessary funds in order to create and print these cookbooks I partnered with the Lewiston Council on the Arts and held a large bake sale during the Buffalo Philharmonic concert in Academy Park in July 2023. I bought spices to donate with any excess money I had and donated the books in February 2024 when the project was completed. Upon completion, I had dedicated 111 hours to this award. I wanted to impart the knowledge that cooking can be an experience that can bring people together even if you don’t have the most expensive ingredients– that the memories that come with cooking are not just for the people who can follow the recipe to a tee. I hope the recipes I chose made these ideas come true.

About the Girl Scout Gold Award

The Gold Award project is the culmination of all the work a girl puts into “going for the Gold.” A Girl Scout’s project should be something that a girl can be passionate about—in thought, deed, and action that encompasses organizational, leadership, and networking skills. The project should also fulfill a need within a girl’s community (whether local or global) and create change that has the potential to be on-going or sustainable. Approximately 80 hours of community service are involved in the project. Completion of the Gold Award also qualifies the Girl Scout for special scholarship opportunities and she can enlist in the military at a higher starting pay grade. The Girl Scout Gold Award, the most prestigious award in the world for girls, acknowledges the power behind each recipient’s dedication to not only empowering and bettering herself, but also to making the world a better place for others. These young women are courageous leaders and visionary change makers. The Gold Award requires a Girl Scout to identify an issue and investigate it to understand what can be done to address the problem. The girl then forms a team to act as a support system, including a project advisor close to the issue who is not a troop leader or family member, while she leads the project. The Girl Scout creates a plan to ensure they know what steps they must tackle while working on the project. The Girl Scout submits a proposal for her project to her local Girl Scout council. After acceptance, the girl begins to work through the steps of their plan utilizing the assistance of her support team where necessary. Lastly, the project is used to educate and inspire others about the cause they are addressing. For more information on the Gold Award,  click here.