Berks Girl Scouts earn Silver Award
Recipients honored at in-person ceremony
The Girl Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania announced that 160 girls from across its nine-county council territory earned the highest achievement for a Girl Scout Cadette, receiving the Girl Scout Silver Award.
The Silver Award recipients, including Girl Scouts from Berks County, were honored during an in-person ceremony on May 12. Members of the council’s Board of Directors, Girl Scouts volunteers, families and friends were in attendance. Former Philadelphia Poet Laureate and Girl Scout Cydney Brown was the keynote speaker.
“We are thrilled to honor these 160 extraordinary Silver Award Girl Scouts. In a year of extreme change and uncertainty, they believed in their power to make a lasting impact on their communities today,” said Kim E. Fraites-Dow, chief executive officer of Girl Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania.
The Silver Award is the culmination of a Girl Scout’s demonstration of leadership ability, time management, creativity, initiative and a significant mastery of skills.
To receive the award, each chooses a Take Action project that identifies a community problem. They must develop a plan to solve the problem, recruiting a team to assist them and creating sustainable solutions that last for years beyond their project. These projects require a minimum of 50 hours of service.
This year’s Take Action projects include creating reusable and washable sanitary napkins for women, creating meditation gardens, making a free children’s library to provide access to literature, and creating a podcast by, for and to the LGBTQ+ community.
Berks County Girl Scouts were among those honored (full names not provided due to Girl Scouts policy): Louisa C. of Troop 1516, Pollinator Garden; Olivia D. of Troop 1797, Garden of Hope; Myah D. of Troop 1797, Myah’s Simple Masks; Caitlyn D. of Troop 1797, Birdsboro Coverup; Emma E. of Troop 1797, Lynne Decker Memorial Bench; Gillian F. of Troop 1126, Pollinator Project; Sienna G. of Troop 1793, Blankets for CHOP; Emily H. of Troop 1516, Helping Foster Care Children One Bag at a Time; Emily K. of Troop 122, Meditation Garden; Monica Rosalie L. of Troop 1645, “The King of Trash, Your Royal Rubbish;” Nisha Angelina M. of Troop 1664, “Shed the Old, Fill the New;” Cadence P. of Troop 1645, Take a Book, Leave a Book; Makayla S. of Troop 1793, Rags to Rescues; Giana S. of Troop 1797, Garden of Hope; Amanda M. of Troop 122, Mediation Garden; and Emily T. of Troop 122, Mediation Garden.
Louisa C. of Troop 1516 created a Pollinator Garden.
“I removed an overgrown flower bed in the Twin Valley Elementary Center courtyard and created a pollinator and butterfly garden. This project helps the students learn more about pollinators and it gives pollinators a place to rest and reproduce.”
Myah D. of Troop 1797 established Myah’s Simple Masks.
“I made more than 1,000 masks during the COVID-19 pandemic and donated them to Reading Hospital and other various hospitals, schools, grocery stores, EMTs, and other frontline workers. I also came up with a fun patch program for Girl Scouts to learn about health and safety when it comes to contagious viruses.” Caitlyn D. of Troop 1797 conducted the Birdsboro Cover-up project.
“My team and I sanded and painted over all of the graffiti and equipment at three local park locations within Birdsboro.”
Emma E. of Troop 1797 conducted the Lynne Decker Memorial Bench project.
“I built a bench in honor of Lynne Decker in Birdsboro Borough. Lynne Decker was my assistant Girl Scout leader for Troop 1797, one of my best friend’s mom who passed away in a tragic car accident. This bench will also give others a place to sit and enjoy the park.”
Giana S. of Troop 1797 created a Garden of Hope.
“My fellow scout Olivia and I created a community garden and composting program at St. Gabriel’s Episcopal Church in Douglasville. Our work produced five large donations of vegetables to the Hopewell Love Food Bank.”
Altogether, the 160 Silver Award Girl Scouts completed more than 9,700 leadership hours of community service.
The Girl Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania reported that based on the latest service worth estimate of one volunteer hour ($28.54), this represents a value of more than $278,636 in community problem-solving investment for the nine counties.
“We applaud and celebrate the girls’ courage, confidence and character and their dedication to making the world a better place,” said FraitesDow. “They have shown us what true leadership is and we look forward to welcoming them to an elite community of Girl Scouts and outstanding women who share the same drive to build a better world, together.”