Girl Scouts of Western New York is proud to announce Abigail Provost as a 2025 Gold Award Girl Scout.

Project: Seven Hills’ New Archery Range

My gold award was designed to help build confidence in young women, and teach them a skill in the process. I designed, fundraised for, and constructed a fully functioning archery range at Western New York’s Girl Scout Camp Seven Hills. The camp needed another range, or at least an update to their current one, as it became unusable due to weather damage. So I built a new range, where there was only an open field, so that the next generation of Girl Scouts could learn, and later teach such an empowering skill. I was inspired to do so to honor the memory of my Oma, who began my journey in scouting all those years ago. The range I built was named the Eagle Eyes Archery Range in honor of the woman, my Oma, who inspired me to be the best version of myself, and to make the world a better place for those who come afterwards. She helped me find confidence in myself, and my abilities, by teaching me archery, and I wanted all scouts who came after me to have the same empowering opportunities. Through this project, I led a team of volunteers in constructing the range itself, budgeting our resources, fundraising, planning and drawing schematics for the range, and further refined my time and project management abilities. I reached out to businesses like Lowe’s and Home Depot for help, and Lowe’s donated a significant amount of materials to the project. I also reached out to local businesses to help make plaques for the range, to commemorate the woman for which it was named, and I worked closely with the director of outdoor activities at camp to ensure my range would be helpful, usable, and fulfill all necessary safety guidelines.

About the Girl Scout 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.