Girl Scouts of Western New York is proud to announce Elizabeth Fredette of Fairport, NY, as a 2019 Gold Award Girl Scout. Fredette’s project was titled “Update of Potter Park.”

Fredette explained, “Potter Park is a relatively popular meeting place for many groups in our town of Fairport, but due to the building’s historical status we can’t hang anything on the walls. To fix this issue I made an easel which groups can write on as well as hang posters from. I also updated the first aid kit that was already at Potter, making sure to create a paper so that the Fairport Service Unit could keep the kit updated for the next 5 years. Finally I took this whole process and created a video which I posted on YouTube so that other girls could update their own community centers.”

Fredette added, “Girl Scouts has given me so many opportunities to give back to my community over the years. It has also helped me to meet many other girls and even given me the chance to see the impact of my influence on them. Girl Scouts has given me almost all of my strong female role models, including my troop leader who was also my mother, all of my fellow scouts’ mothers and all the women who helped run the Fairport Service Unit. I don’t think I would be as confident in myself as I am had I not been given the chance to be a Girl Scout. I’ve built a friendship with the scouts of my troop which I’m sure will extend well into our adult lives.”

Fredette will receive her Gold Award at the Gold Award Ceremony on June 1, 2019. The Girl Scout Gold Award is the most prestigious award in the world for girls.

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 to enter the military a full rank higher than her peers.

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.

To learn more, visit gswny.org.