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

Project: Camp at DASA Preschool

DASA Preschool is a not-for-profit preschool. The root cause of the issue my Gold Award addressed was that childcare is difficult to obtain when school is out for February break, especially for preschool-aged children. I addressed the root cause of the issue by providing childcare to the families of young children during the February break from school. I provided STEAM (Science, Tech, Engineering, Art, and Math) based learning for the children. To measure my project’s success, I had a meeting with all volunteers after each day of camp, and reflected on each day’s activities and evaluated what could be improved. I created a comprehensive lesson plan detailing the assembly of the projects, what we improved upon, and the materials needed for each day. This lesson plan was shared with DASA Preschool so that the camp can be recreated in the future.

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.