Girl Scouts of Western New York is proud to announce Bridget McMaster of Geneseo, NY, as a 2021 Gold Award Girl Scout. Bridget is from Troop 51074 and has been a member of Girl Scouts for 11 years.

What Bridget said about Girl Scouts

Girl Scouting has made me more confident and helped me create great friendships.

Project: Positive Empowering Bathroom Art

My Gold Award project addressed being confident, kind, and supporting one another. The root cause of why I wanted to do this project was because a lot of girls don’t have self confidence and or they don’t help others feel good about themselves. Being kind can go a long way.

I painted girl empowering quotes in the Geneseo Central Elementary 4th-5th grade girls’ bathroom. I researched quotes that I felt would be inspiring, stenciled them on the walls and painted them on the walls. The visual reminders of my quotes are hopefully making girls feel good about themselves and reminding them to help others to feel good about themselves. I collaborated with Kelly Sattora, the Geneseo elementary principal on this project. My hope is that my inspirational messages will motivate others to be kind and build on others self esteem.

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.