Girl Scouts of Western New York is proud to announce Jessica Dawson of Macedon, NY, as a 2021 Gold Award Girl Scout. Jessica is from Troop 60219 and has been a member of Girl Scouts for 12 years.

What Jessica said about Girl Scouts

Girl Scouting has made a profound impact on my life. It has taught me about myself and others, helping me to find what I love and how that fits into a world where we all love different things. It has allowed me to meet inspirational women, encouraging me each and every day to pursue my goals. But most of all, Girl Scouts has given me a chance to make a difference in my community. I have always loved helping people, and have always wanted to change the world for the better; Girl Scouts has given me the skills and confidence I need to do just that.

Project: Adulting 101

For my Gold Award project, I created a website explaining important life skills. It was accessible from anywhere, given the online nature of the project. I decided on the project during the Gold Award Training, realizing how little I and others knew about some essential life skills. In school we are rarely taught about things like how to do taxes or how to do laundry properly, and any knowledge we have on these is often incomplete.

In the difficulty to transition to adulthood, one root cause of the issue is the lack of free resources on life skills that are meant for young adults with little to no experience. Most sources easily found by a Google search require some prerequisite knowledge, and many of the best resources for young adults require money.

Therefore, I created this guide to help others my age learn about these essential skills, covering topics from basic finance when I realized how little I and others knew about some essential life skills. My project’s target audience was young adults age 18 to 24 who are transitioning to living more independently. My audience gained knowledge about life skills including financials, budgeting, taxes, home care, and insurance.

About the 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.