Girl Scouts of Western New York is proud to announce Morgan Mahoney of Hamburg, NY, as a 2020 Gold Award Girl Scout. Mahoney’s project, Game Time, involved creating oversized board games for her local YMCA that services four elementary schools in the Hamburg School District.

Mahoney stated that the YMCA expressed a need due to budget and requested the games be made easy to store. The handmade games helped the organization fulfill the desire for more interactive play opportunities. She created Twister and Scrabble using bedsheets for compact folding, then she laminated the game pieces for Scrabble on cardstock to make them easy to stack and store in cloth bags. She also hopes that the children see that they can create games with materials available at home and a little creativity. 

Mahoney explained, “The games benefit the children because they encourage physical activity, reading, spelling, taking turns, and group play. I chose Twister because it promotes physical activity and Scrabble promotes literacy.”

Mahoney said she expanded her communication skills by working with adults and students. She also stated that she feels her leadership skills will continue growing because she gained experience and confidence in the process of completing her Gold Award project.

By earning her Gold Award during the 2020 Girl Scouting year, Mahoney will be included in a virtual acknowledgment this June. All 2020 Gold Award Girl Scouts will receive the option to be a part of the 2021 in-person Gold Award ceremony next year to receive their Gold Award pin. 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 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.

To learn more, visit gswny.org.