Girl Scouts of Western New York is proud to announce Paige Phillips of Victor, NY, as a 2019 Gold Award Girl Scout. Phillips’ project was titled “Cupcakes for Life.”

Phillips explained, “I held two decorating classes, one for ages 6-8 and the other for ages 9-10 at a local daycare. The classes, held at TLC daycare in Victor where I went as a child, held around 20 children combined. My purpose was to teach a simple and very useful piping technique that is universal in the baking world. This was to excite kids and provide the means to explore decorating, and therefore, baking. The community it served was the young kids that attended the class, but once they left the class the goal is that they bring the lesson home and continue with the baking and decorating with their family and sharing it with their friends and the town itself. The blog I posted on the internet was an expansive effort to reach as many people as possible. Overall, the class provided the children with a pressure-free and fun environment in which they could try new activities and techniques. Decorating can be a creative outlet, and I wanted to show the kids that it is possible for them to make beautiful outputs and they can enjoy doing it. I created a lesson containing a series of pictures displaying step-by-step piping and decoration of a cupcake. It also had each step of the class and the approximate length of each activity.”

Phillips added, “The tools that I learned in Girl Scouts regarding leadership, discipline, dedication and being service-minded helps me as a Stamps Scholar at Elizabethtown College.”

Phillips 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.